Let the Rain Come Down
by Soronume de Laiquendi
Summary: Draco finds his motehr's diary, Hermione is captured. This is the story of how they found each other, and discovered the most powerful thing of all- love. Chapter twelve up- the escape!
1. Default Chapter

Let The Rain Come Down  
  
*Disclaimer*~ This is the only disclaimer I will write for this story. I do not own, nor claim to own any and all characters and settings created by Ms. J.K. Rowling. I hereby own only my plot, and any extra characters and settings of my own creation. I also do not own any and all song lyrics mentioned in each chapter. Their ownership will be made clear with each chapter. This story is my own original work, influenced by history and my own life. I'd appreciate anyone's critiques and comment, anything you'd like to tell me, let me know. Let it also be known that, if said ownership held by J.K. Rowling concerning the characters Draco and Severus should ever be up for grabs, I have first dibs on them both (well at least Sevie). Hope you like the story, I'm trying to go back and edit each of my existing chapters before I press on, so read, enjoy, and hopefully, review! Thanks to all of my reviewrs so far, I appreciate all of your comments. Thanks also to Whitney and Jenn who have both been my inspirations for writing.  
  
Chapter One:  
"Catch me as I fall. Say you're here and it's all over now." Hermione's POV:  
  
I'm going to tell you about a day that changed my life forever. You might know me as Hermione Granger, female friend to the famous Harry Potter, a bookworm, and, of course, a know-it-all. Yeah, well, not anymore. When our story was last left off, it was the end of my fifth year at Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry, Ron, and I had barely managed to escape the year alive, and so much happened that changed our lives. But now, I am in my seventh year at the newly- rebuilt Hogwarts. That's right, newly rebuilt.  
  
Let me see if I can fill you in. That summer, over a year and a half ago, Voldemort returned to all of his old grievances: killing, destroying, torturing innocents. The wizarding world was in an uproar. Voldemort's closest supporters became his "generals" in his war against the Light side. These "generals" began kidnapping muggle-born mages, slowly but surely, tearing them away from their families, destroying their homes, and ruining their lives. Only those taken knew where they were taken, to the equivalent of a muggle work camp, and I was unfortunate to be one of those who knew the truth.  
  
For a little while, after the end of the school year, I was able to stay hidden from the hated Death-eaters. After a few weeks of terrifying nightmares, and glancing behind my back at every little sound, my loving parents agreed to let me stay with the Weasley's for the rest of the summer. They feared for my safety, as I feared for theirs. One could never know who Voldemort would torture next. I loved my parents so much, despite the differences in our lives, and I was hesitant to say goodbye to them. I had to keep telling myself that it was for the good of us all. With small tears forming behind my otherwise emotionless eyes, I disappeared in the green cloud of smoke that had erupted as I shouted the Weasley's residence in our fireplace. Little did I know that it would be that last I saw parents for a long time.  
  
I was well recepted by Ron's overly large family. I settled into a room that I shared with Ginny. I was able to spend my days with my friends (Harry had also escaped the Dursley's, and came to the burrow), and we would terrorize Mrs. Weasley to no end, with all of our energetic adventures. But each day, I felt more uneasy, more unsafe. When I first arrived at the burrow, I had this feeling that I was completely safe, that Voldemort couldn't get me. But as days passed, I started having nightmares, ones that would wake me up in the middle of the night in a panic. It was as if my subconscious knew something bad was going to happen. Unfortunately, I was horribly right.  
  
One morning, I had gotten up early, before anyone else, and I wandered out into the Weasley's garden. It was a bright, clear morning, and already, it was feeling muggy out. As I wandered through the little paths, I listened to the sounds in the trees, and in the grass. Somewhere, out in the distance, I heard a rooster crow. How I loved being out there by myself, thinking in peace about whatever took my fancy. There wasn't anyone else to invade my thoughts, and I gladly took the time to think about my parents, and even what my come in the next school year. I waked on for a while, before I noticed something had changed around me. It seemed as if all of the buzzing of the summer insects, all of the small chirpings of the songbirds, even the gentle whisper of the wind, was silenced. It was so quiet, that I could literally hear the hairs on the back of my neck stand on their ends.  
  
Somehow, I knew something wasn't right. It was one of those moments when you knew some sort of doom was awaiting you at any moment, any you were completely defenseless in saving yourself. I heard a slight noise behind me, and without turning around, I knew that I had been caught. I knew there was no way for me to escape. I could feel the evil emanating from him as he stood behind me, waiting for me to face him. Accepting my fate, and cursing at myself for being alone, I turned around. Standing there was an average- looking mage in dark blue robes. Well, he was average if you didn't take into account the scowl that had taken over his face. He held his wand high, aiming down at me.  
  
"Hope you've said your goodbyes, mudblood. This is the last time you'll see this place," he hissed.  
  
I stood there, glaring him in the face. Shock was threatening to overwhelm me. Before he could disarm me, I raised my wand and shouted. I wasn't going down without a fight.  
  
"Stupify!!!!," I cried desperately.  
  
It was no use. He quickly blocked my sorry excuse for a curse, and shouted something incoherent at me. I felt the full force of his curse, whatever it was, and I stumbled. I tried to raise my wand to shout another curse at him, but I found that both my arm, and my voice had been rendered useless. I felt this pain subtly creep into my body, slowly, it climbed up my legs, into my torso and chest, and then, into my head. The pain became excruciating, and I struggled to remain standing in defense. All the while, the other mage sat there, looking at me with this amused smirk on his face. I was slowly loosing control of my strength, as the pain ate away at each of my muscles. I fell to my knees, trying to scream out my suffering so that someone, anyone could hear me. But I was refused that request. I felt myself fall forwards, as the ground came closer and closer to my face. All I could think was about Harry and Ron. How would they know what happened? How were they going to react to my disappearance? In one last moment, I glanced around at the garden, willing it into my memory, and then, all was dark.  
*******  
  
When I awoke, sometime later, I immediately remembered what had happened, and sat up. Bad idea. The blood in my head came rushing, and I felt dizzy. I was in a large gray room, in a small cot, surrounded by many others. In each cot was a mage, either sleeping, or just awaking as I was. I felt no pain anywhere, which unsettled me, because I remembered the curse that was put on me. A short, balding mage, who was wearing black robes, hurried over to me from where he was attending another mage in a cot.  
  
"Good, you're awake. Come on, now," he placed an odd looking bracelet around my wrist, before I could stop him. Then, he muttered some little spell, and I could feel it tighten its hold around my small hand. He then began to mumble incoherent words, and I felt myself being pulled out of the cot that I was in. It seemed really weird. I was a captive of some sort, yet my "captors were normal looking, and on the verge of civil. I could see that many other people, young and old were being given the same treatment. The mage in front of me seemed to be invisibly pulling me along behind him, and as I glanced ahead, I could see that we were all heading towards an open doorway, into some room that was empty of all furnishings, except for a very small mahogany desk, at which there was a young witch who was speaking to each person, one by one. I was near the middle of the line that snaked its way around the wide, colorless room, and I began to listen to those around me.  
  
Apparently all of us "prisoners", for that was what I guessed we were now, had been silenced by some spell, and we could not speak. But we could make small sounds. As I passed each prisoner, I could see the fear on their faces, some whimpering as they slowly moved down the line. Most of the prisoners seemed to be mages, judging by their robes, while others could be either muggle or mage, as their clothes were that of the muggle world. The people were of all ages. I saw many men, whose faces still showed remnants of pride and dignity, and yet they were slowly showing signs of defeat. The women were distraught, trying not to let those around them hear their cries. The smaller children, who were my age or younger, were mostly silent, watching, waiting for something to happen. Soon, it was my turn with the witch at the desk.  
  
"What is your name?" she asked almost inaudibly.  
  
"H- Hermione Granger," I rasped, my voice not being used to talking.  
  
"Age?" she again asked, almost boredly.  
  
"Sixteen," I replied involuntarily. I realized then that the bracelet on my wrist controlled movements and my voice.  
  
"Her ID is 292716," the witch stated, and motioned for the short mage, who had remained silent the entire time, and I through another door. In the next room was another witch, older, who was sitting in a chair with her wand up and ready. She silently motioned me forward, and without warning, she began to drag her wand across the top of my hand. Only, I realized that it couldn't be a wand, because the moment it touched my skin, I felt a hot, steaming burn on my hand. I forced my eyes to look at what she was doing. When I looked I saw that she had written my ID number on my hand. She had branded me, like some piece of cattle. My mind was reeling from the pain, and I wanted to scream out, but once again, I was denied. This was wrong, this was all wrong.  
  
I was then led into another room, where there were several other mages in black robes directing each prisoner into several groups. I was led to a large group of many younger people, mostly teenagers. The short, bald mage, who had been leading me around, then left me, as I stood next to about twenty other mages in two straight lines. Soon, I was led, along with the rest of my group, out of the seemingly endless building, into the sunlight, by another wizard in ragged brown robes. We were taken silently out into a large courtyard, surrounded by several large buildings. There were several small roads that led out in different directions. We were led down a well traveled road towards an avenue of some sort. On either side of the road, were long, one-story buildings, each showing signs of deterioration. We were all led past several of these buildings, until we stopped in front of the seventh one down the road, on the left.  
  
The land around the buildings was nondescript, with nothing to look at besides land. No trees, no bushes, not even much grass. What grass there was, was trampled on, dead. Silently, we were herded into the building through a door that was falling apart. The inside wasn't much better. There were about fifteen bunks lined up in a straight line down the center of the one room. At the head of the building, where we came in there was a door to the right that seemed to open into a smaller room. At the back of the larger room, I could see another door that led to a small bathroom. There was no sink or mirror.  
  
All of a sudden, the wizard that had led us there, spoke up. "Welcome to Carceris Crudelis. If you would all please come and sit down over here in a circle." This guy looked no older than seventeen, and yet he walked like a man of forty. We followed his directions, and realized that we were no longer being forced by the bracelet. We all sat down in a circle, looking at each other, sizing each other up.  
  
"My name is Sean, and I am your new unit leader. Do not worry, I am one of you," said the young wizard, as held up his left hand for us to see the six- digit number blazoned on the center of his hand. We all stared in shock, and then someone, another wizard, only younger, spoke up.  
  
"Where are we, what is this place?" he seemed to be the first to find his voice, and the rest of us soon discovered we had control over our own again. Almost immediately, the room exploded into noise as each person voiced their questions.  
  
Sean held up his hand for silence. "Once again I say, you are in Carceris Crudelis, and it is a work camp for the muggle-born mages. Now you all know what happens to us when we are caught. You have been placed in the unit for the farm work, where you will basically perform any task given by the Master. You will learn that he is called Campbell. Here you will work until you die, or until the Light side gets their act together and rescues us. We are prisoners of war, and your only hope of survival is to work. I am in charge of making sure you are each up in the morning, and ready to go. Each morning, we eat breakfast at six am. We then work until eight pm, to have dinner at eight- thirty. We have forty- five minutes after dinner to convene in the main hall. After that we come back here, and go to sleep at ten. Do not try to escape. The bracelets on our arms are now enacted to monitor our actions, and will curse you with the Cruciatus should you try to leave the grounds. Now then, we are allowed fifteen minutes, and then lights out. I suggest you all get to know each other, and if you have any questions, my room is right by the door."  
  
With that, he turned, and headed to his room. The rest of us began to introduce ourselves, one by one. When the circle came down to me, I told them that my name was Aguila, because there was no one that I recognized, and I would rather not give my real name to them. I figured it might be the only thing I could claim as mine, and keep to myself here. "Them" consisted of nineteen people, ranging in ages from eleven to the oldest, a witch, who was thirty- seven. There were people from all over the world here, and the only other Briton was a small eleven year old girl, who was supposed to attend Hogwarts this year. The poor girl barely knew anything about the wizarding world, and was scared out of her wits. We began to separate into smaller groups, according to our age ranges. I began speaking to two other teenagers who were from Belgium. Soon, Sean came out, and announced lights out. We made our way to empty bunks, pulling the thin sheets up around us to keep us warm. I stared at the ceiling as the lights went out. So many questions went unanswered, so many things were racing through my mind. Where was this camp located? How was I going to survive? How was I going to get out?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ A/n: I didn't feel there was much else to change, so the chapter will stay pretty much as it was. More updates soon, I promise! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer~ Once again, I must admit that I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters. Any unfamiliar characters are mine, as well as the plot.  
  
a/n~ I'm sorry if the first chapter was a little confusing. To explain it a little better, these first two chapters start out with each of the characters in the present tense, and they begin to reflect on what happened in the past. From here on out, the story will be in the past until many, many chapters from now. I think you might be able to distinguish the difference when the time comes. So, just a reminder that each of these two chapters start out in the present, but switch to the past, and remain there for a while. Once again, sorry for the confusion. Also, I apologize if these two chapters sound repetitive, don't worry; the rest of the chapters will be their own, unique chapter!!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"I am a question to the world, not an answer to be heard."  
  
Draco's POV:  
  
I'm going to tell you about a day that changed my life forever. You might know me as Draco Malfoy, archenemy of the infamous Harry Potter, the epitome of the Slytherin House, the son of a death eater. Yeah, well, not anymore. When the story was last left off, I was in my fourth year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lord Voldemort, the most evil wizard in the world had re-risen to power, and my father had returned to him. Now I am in my seventh year at the newly-rebuilt Hogwarts. Yes, newly- rebuilt.  
  
As I'm sure you remember, my house is Slytherin, home of most of the death eaters, and the origin of all of the darkest wizards and witches. Back then, I was quite proud of myself. I was top of my class, excepting Granger, but she hadn't counted, she was only a mudblood. I knew that I would soon be the captain of my house's quidditch team, and I had two of the most intimidating bodyguards that Hogwarts had to offer, though their wit was nowhere near their strength. But I was also arrogant in the fact that all the witches fell head over heels for me, and I knew it.  
  
The truth is, my mind wasn't really as focused on those accomplishments as they were on others. Don't get me wrong, they mattered to me, but, back then, I focused most of my thought on Voldemort's return. I couldn't help it really; "Father" had trained me to the perfect clone of himself. Now that I look back on it, it was sad, really. "Yes, Father, anything you say, Father, I'll go jump of a bridge because you told me to, Father." I grew up in that cold mansion, being taught all of the dark secrets of the "other" side of magic. I was skilled in all of the darker arts known to wizardkind, and I was proud. Its sickens me to remember how weak I was, how stupid I was. What was even stupider, if it could be possible, was when I received the darkmark, willingly.  
  
Father was so proud of his perfect little Draco, and yet demanded that I pledge my life to another. I had never met the Dark Lord before in my conscious memory, but Father told me otherwise. Apparently, He had been to our mansion the day I was born, and had "blessed" my existence. When He came back at the end of my fourth year, and rose to power, Father returned very quickly to Him. Since I had passed the age required to take the pledge, Father insisted that I take it right away. What was I to do but follow his orders, become just like him. I unwittingly pledged my service to Voldemort the week he came back, and I was immediately thrust into the world of deatheaterdom. The pain of the ceremony still lingered, and grew to a blinding flash every time He called me to Him. The malice in His eyes was shocking as he branded me, His hatred spewing from his mouth as He muttered the words of the spell, or, more wisely called, the curse.  
  
The very day I was branded, Father led me out to my first "task". Voldemort had captured several muggles for his new little recruits to practice on. I was told to torture them, until they begged me to finish them off. So, like the perfect little dragon I was, I did as I was told. Flashback: As I raised my wand to the old, graying man, I focused my thought on the purpose of what I was doing. Father stood off to the side, watching his son begin his first torturing. The room was small, cold and dark. The old man was cowering in the corner, frightened out of his mind by what was happening. He wasn't prepared for what was coming.  
  
"Crucio!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, a little unsure of what I was doing. However, Father had taught me well, for the curse had struck the man with full force. He immediately doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach. He held his scream inside, but only for a moment. He began crying out; just wailing as if he thought it would ease the pain. Then he looked up at me, still shrieking, and I saw his eyes. Such agony and such despair were pouring out of them with each tear. He looked at me as I held the curse on him, slowly breaking him, with almost pity in his eyes. The irony of it all, that a small fifteen year old boy could bring an older man to his knees without breaking a sweat.  
  
I began to falter, the power radiating through me less potently. I realized, as the man collapsed and fell to the ground, that I had just inflicted lethal pain on another human being. I had just killed a man who might have had kids, a wife, and friends. The man lying dead beside my feet, had been alive only moments ago, and it was my fault that he wasn't anymore. I stood in shock for a few moments before Father came towards me.  
  
"Well done, Draco, you have proved your loyalty. Come now, you must return home, you have done more than enough for today." he said, quite indifferently. I looked up at him numbly, as the realization of what I had just done swept over me. I stared at him, open-mouthed, as I was led outside the room, and dissaparated home. I will never forget the look in the man's eyes as he began to fall to the ground. They will haunt me for as long as I live.  
  
After that day, I never killed another innocent. I made excuses to Father, telling him I wasn't ready for it. He reluctantly agreed, realizing I was, after all, very young. But I still aided the deatheaters. I became a secretary of sorts. Voldemort required me to keep records of all that we did, and to coordinate each meeting place and time. I dedicated myself to being useful, and making up for my weakness, for that's what I thought it was at the time. I pushed away my feelings of disgust, never admitting even to myself that I did not, could not believe that killing innocents, no matter how impure they were. So I threw my heart into my other work. School had been suspended, as the Board of Supervisors deemed it unsafe. So many muggle-borns were being kidnapped, and taken to work camps, I knew because I was in charge of the records, though I refused to ever go to any of them, I was too frightened of what I saw there.  
  
But all of that changed quickly. Near the end of what would have been my fifth year at Hogwarts, I was visiting a cousin of mine, several hours from home. I was summoned by owl to return home as quickly as possible. I disaparated home to find Father sitting on the couch near the fireplace I our parlor, staring at absolutely nothing.  
  
"What is wrong Father, what has happened?" I asked, for I knew from his blank stare as I arrived, something big had happened. That's when I noticed the sound of one of our house elves wailing in the kitchen. Since Father had not moved a muscle, I followed the sound through the corridors, into the kitchen. I wasn't anywhere prepared for what I found. My mother, my beautiful mother lay on the floor, in a pool of her own blood. Her face was battered, black and blue, and the blood seemed to seep from the back of her head.  
  
It was at that moment that I felt what it's like when time stands still. I stood there, shocked, and could not bring myself to move. Almost instantly, I fell to my knees and gently lifted her limp form into my lap. I held her in my arms, feeling her pulse, amazed that there was still a hint of one. Miraculously, her eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Mother, who did this to you?!?" I cried, anxious to know what happened.  
  
"My son, my beautiful son." she whispered in gasps of air. She tried to smile up at me, but she then chocked up blood. "I love you, Draco." she struggled with each word.  
  
"I love you to, Mum. Please, tell me, what happened?" I struggled to keep myself from yelling in my rage. She began to sputter out more words, barely audible.  
  
"My son.you must.. look in the bottom.of my..trunk.find the little. green book. You must. read it. I'm fading, Son. Never. forget.goodbye, love." With that, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, as her spirit left her body. I sat there, with her still in my arms, all the while screaming at her, "Mum.Mum???? You can't leave me. no!" I began to weep, my tears pouring out of my eyes, threatening to fill an ocean. I wept over her for what seemed like hours, barely noticing the movements of the house elves around me.  
  
I was remembering all that I could of her. My beautiful mother, who was always there for me when Father overworked me, never hurt anyone in her life. She always seemed to carry sorrow in her eyes, yet she would always smile for me. She would always flinch when she learned of my training and my dealings with the deatheaters, and yet she would say nothing. She never showed any affection towards Father, though she obeyed his every command. When I was younger, and Father was away, she would cradle me in her arms, and tell me she loved me. As I got older, she would still at least hug me, and remind me of her love. She had taught me the value of life, how important it was, and I think it was because of her that I could not follow through with any more tortures after that one time. She was my comfort when I came home, and I couldn't face the world without her.  
  
Whoever did this to her would pay. I gently picked her up and carried her up the stairs to her room, noticing that Father still stared at the wall ad I passed. I laid her on her bed. Then I remembered her words, what she had told me to do before she passed. Green book. her trunk. read it. I began to search her room for her trunk, noticing the faint smell of roses coming from the vase on her dresser. I searched and finally found the trunk in the back of her closet. Pulled it out, and quickly unlocked it. Inside, I found many little keepsakes. A photo album, a scarf, several other little odds and ends. And then I saw the book. It was a dark green color, bordered by gold. There was no lock on it, so I opened it to see fading yellow pages. I recognized the flowing script that belonged to Mum, and, as I sat down in middle of the floor, I began to read. The first entry was dated the very day of my birth. I realized that she had kept this diary for almost sixteen years.  
  
"My dear son, Draco, how..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Tadaa!!!!! I know this was a long chapter, but there's so much to write!!! Thank you to my reviewers, I appreciate them. I feel I must warn you that this will be a very long and drawn out story, so please have patience. All comments, suggestions, and questions are highly welcome!!!! The lyrics belong to John Rzeznik, from "I'm Still Here" 


	3. Chapter 3

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: This becomes old far too quickly. Must I admit that, Alas, I did not think of any of the Harry Potter books, or their characters, for that matter? Though, I am happy to announce that the plot in this story is mine, as well as any unfamiliar characters. *goes off by herself, banging her head against the wall."Why didn't I think of them first, why."*  
  
A/N~ Just reminding you that Hermione is now telling the past as though it were the present. She's reliving it. Song lyrics by Evanescence. Please read and review!!!!!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"I still remember the world."  
  
The next day at this strange camp was the hardest in my life. The deatheaters had stripped us of all of our wands, of course, so we were without the ability to use magic. We were all awakened at precisely six in the morning by a large, low-toned bell, sounding from somewhere in the distance. My cabin mates and I slowly rose up out of our bunks. My muscles were sore and constricted from sleeping on the stiff mattress. Sean appeared from the doorway of his small room. The rest of the people in the cabin were stretching their arms and yawning loudly. All of them had an anxious feeling about them. We all wondered what this day would hold for us.  
  
"Morning, everyone," said Sean, a tad sullenly. "This is going to be a hard day for you, since it is your first in the fields. I promise you, that if you keep working through the day, the guards won't torture you. They just want you to keep working, keep moving. Don't give them any lip, or they will go out of their way to make sure you are punished. Wherever we go, whether to meals, or to and from the fields, we are to be in two single- file lines, so please line up." He pronounced his speech quietly, though everyone heard it. We needed to know all that we could of this place.  
  
After we had lined up, Sean led us out to the road that led through the "avenue" of bunkhouses. We marched down to the end of this road, which led to a court. There was only one large building at the far end, and we headed straight for it. As we came nearer to the door, I saw a small sign above the threshold that read "Mess Hall." One by one, each unit that had been marching from their bunkhouses entered the building. Once my unit had entered, the silence that had reigned over all of us erupted into a great clambering of plates and silverware, as well as chattering voices. Apparently, talking was allowed at mealtimes, and everyone used that to their advantage. I stood in line for my food, sliding my tray slowly along the rack. The people serving the food were prisoners, I noticed, and offered us newbies reassuring smiles as they piled mountains of gunk on our plates.  
  
I picked up my tray and turned to find an open seat at the many tables. I walked over to a table where there was only one seat left. I figured I might as well start making friends, and quickly. Allies in this place would be useful as well as comforting when it got hard. I sat down, looking at each person already seated. They looked up at me inquisitively.  
  
"Hi, my name is Aquila," I said, as I stretched my hand out to greet the girl to my left. She smiled, and shook my hand. "Hi, Aquila, I'm Niamh. I'm from Southern Ireland. This is my first day here, is it yours?" she asked, looking a little unsure of herself. She was a redhead, a deep cherry color, with a pale complexion. Some would consider her beautiful, but for the fading bruises that covered the upper part of her face.  
  
"Yes, it's mine also," I answered her. Turning to the others, I asked, "And what are your names?" I glanced at the two boys sitting across from me, and the other girl sitting on my right. The girl answered first. "I am Ceara, from Wales." She also smiled unsuringly. She was a brunette with dark blue eyes peering out at me. One of the boys spoke up. "I am Connor, and this is Liam, my brother. We are from Ulster." I looked those two over, noticing their sandy brown colored hair and similar profiles. Either they were twins, or they were very close in age.  
  
We began to quietly talk with each other, telling our stories of how and where we were captured. I left out names and where exactly I was, because I didn't want to risk being known. I had a feeling that if anyone knew that I was a close friend of the Boy Who Lived, I would probably be tortured until they got the information they needed about him. Then I remembered. Harry and Ron! Where were they, and were they looking for me? I shook my thoughts of them away. I needed to focus on surviving here, and then worry about them. I know it sounds selfish, but I would rather live and see my friends again. But how much I would give just to have them with me, how much I would give just to be able to talk to them again, even if it were only to say goodbye. And then there were my parents. No, I can't think of them either; it hurt too much.  
  
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by another bell. Apparently, it was time to go to work. Immediately, all of the prisoners dumped their trays, and began to form their lines. I hurried over to the corner where my cabin mates were standing, after waving a silent goodbye to the four people I had been talking with. Once everyone was with his or her group, the unit leaders started to lead their groups out of the mess hall with precision. Soon it was my group's turn to march out of the double-wide doors. We quickly stepped out into the bright sunlight, and began marching down the gravel pathway towards open fields.  
  
In silence, we marched, one in front of the other, following Sean at the head of the line. I realized that we were heading towards a large corn field. Once we reached the large open space before the crop field started, Sean ordered us to halt. We obeyed, and stood in our lines, waiting for him to tell us what to do next. He walked over to a pile of large baskets made of woven wood, almost like wicker. Sean then started handing each of us our own basket, and when he was done he began to explain.  
  
"Our job for the next few weeks is to clear this entire field of every stalk of corn by hand. We are to pick each ear, saving the edible ones, and then cut down the stalks once we are done. Once again, I warn you to keep working all day. If you'll notice we have several "overseers" gracing us with their presence this morning," Sean said, rather sarcastically. As we each turned to look towards the direction Sean had motioned, several of us had to stifle a laugh when we saw about six or seven "overseers" glaring at us from the other side of the field. Sean called us back to attention, and directed each of us to our own section of the field, and we began to work.  
  
From the beginning, I could tell that this work was given to us just to make us do something. There was no point in what we were doing. I began picking off each ear of corn, and unsuccessfully try to pull the rest of the stalk out of the ground. It took me several tries before I figured out how to make the whole process easier and faster. Once I got the process under control, I thought that the work was okay; in fact, it was almost easy. But soon it got boring. As I moved from stalk to stalk, I began to think about many things. I had vowed to myself earlier that I wouldn't think about my friends and family, so, instead, I began reciting over and over in my head all of the spells I had ever learned. As I moved down my first several rows, I began reciting passages from Hogwarts: A History, my favorite book. I was able to occupy mind while doing my work, and at the same time, keep up my memory.  
  
All too slowly did I feel the sun rise ever higher into the sky above me. I realized that the sun was now directly overhead, and I also realized that hunger was beginning to gnaw at my insides. I stood up from the stalk that I had just been pulling at, to take a break. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I glanced around to see if any of my cabin mates were anywhere around me. All of a sudden, I was struck with an indescribable pain. I felt as though thousands of knives were trying to cut themselves out of every part of my body. I cried out in pain as I fell to my knees. Just as I thought my head would tear in half from the pain, it stopped. It was then that I noticed a shadow come up from behind me. I was still kneeling on the ground, hunched over and holding my sides.  
  
"That'll teach yeh not to disobey, yeh filthy mudblood," said a low, menacing voice behind me. I slowly cocked my head to the side so that I could get a glimpse of him. He was a tall, thick brute with a scraggly beard. He looked like a bodyguard from hell, with his overtoned muscles, and neck that was as thick as a horse's. He began to cackle, if you could call it a cackle, and walked away. I had just discovered what the cruciatrus curse felt like.  
  
For the rest of the day, I worked without ceasing, for fear that any moment the pain would come back. The rest of my days at Carceris Crudelis, I would always work with the motivation to never feel those knives again. After the sun had set just below the horizon, I heard another low toned bell in the distance. Where was that stupid bell, I wondered. It was starting to get annoying. I made my way back to the clearing, joining several others on the way. We all formed into our two lines quickly and silently. With a short call from Sean, we began marching back down the now- familiar path. Soon we arrived back at the mess hall, along with several other units. Once inside, I went through the food line and quickly sat down at the same table from that morning. Soon, the other four of my new friends joined me, and we ate in silence. Perhaps it was because we were all so tired.  
  
Almost too quickly, the bell rang signaling the end of dinner. We had another forty-five minutes before lights were supposed to be out, but I was too tired to stay up any later. I made my way back to my cabin, along with several others, and slipped through the decaying door. The lights were somewhat dimmer than I remembered, or was it because my eyes were half closed already? I pulled back the thin blanket on my bunk, and climbed in. As others slowly started coming in, I said goodnight, and closed my eyes completely. I was so worn out that I was asleep in less than two minutes.  
  
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Okay, this chapter was kinda short but it's just a filler. It's those stinkin' details that are going to make this story worthwhile, so I can't be ignoring them, can I? Any way thanks to my reviewers, they are greatly appreciated. I decide to switch Hermione's lyrics From Evanescence's song Whisper, to their other song, Field of Innocence, just in case you were wondering. Hey!!!! You see that cute little button down there? It's kinda purplish, has some writing on it, yeah, it's calling to you, saying, click me, click me!!! 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer~ Once again, I repeat, that I do not own any Harry Potter characters, nor any Harry Potter places, nor any Draco Malfoys, either.  
  
To all my reviewers, thank you, I really appreciate them. I'm sorry it takes me so long to update, but this week I've got major testing and I'm really stressing. So, sorry for the delay. I still haven't figured out how to make italics work when switching from Microsoft word to the site, so if any of you have pointers out there, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanx!!  
  
MAJOR AUTHOR'S NOTE~ I will be continuing this story, even after the fifth book comes out, because I have been planning, writing and stressing over this for a very long time and I will not let it go to waste. I know that not many people will read/review, but I just want to get the story written out and posted to the end. It is a good story, trust me, so please, even after June 21st, please keep reading. I have this uncanny feeling that Rowling will completely destroy all hopes for my plot, but CARE IF I SEE!!!!! (no wait!!!!)  
  
Just to help you understand, this chapter is in Draco's POV, still in the semi past/present if that makes sense. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 4  
  
"Not an answer to be heard, or a moment, that's held in your arms."  
  
"My dear son, Draco, how."  
  
At that moment, when I was about to read the rest of the entry, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. They were heavy, and sounded dull. They were my father's footsteps. Knowing that Father would forbid me to read anything in this diary, I tucked it quickly on the inside pocket of my dark green robes. I closed the lid of the trunk just as I heard a creak in the floorboards that told me Father was just around the corner. On cue, a few seconds later, he stepped through the doorway. Maybe it was just me, I'm not sure, but I realized that my father's face showed no change in expression from his usual contempt. It was as if nothing had happened. Didn't this man realize that his beautiful wife was laying only feet away from him wither lifeblood still trickling out of the back of her head? Didn't he know that he was a widow, and that he would never see my mum's beautiful smile, or hear her laughter fill a room again? What was wrong with this man?  
  
He stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at me, and then slowly moving his eyes to the bed where my mum lay. I searched his face for anger, or sadness, or for any emotion for that matter. Still nothing. "What happened, Father?" I asked as calmly as I could.  
  
"She was killed, Draco. I thought you were a Malfoy. I thought you would be smart enough to figure that one out," he said, once again, without emotion.  
  
"I can see that, Father, but I want to know who did this to her. Who did this to her?"  
  
"Does really matter, Draco? She is dead, life goes on. We will hold her funeral this weekend. Have the house elves take care of her body. I don't want the house to begin to smell," curling up his nose, my father turned sharply around and walked out of the room. I stared after him in shock. I knew that my parents had no love for each other, but to not even be affected by the fact that one's wife was just brutally murdered was just beyond my comprehension. I couldn't understand how he could make any comments as he just did, when his wife was dead. I sat back against the bed, inches away from Mum, unchecked tears streaming down my face.  
  
I had forgotten what it was like to cry. It had been so long since I had allowed myself the freedom to express my pain. But I didn't care anymore. I was so confused, I didn't care about controlling my emotions anymore. I stared at the wall for what seemed like hours, remembering all the times I spent with Mum. It seemed as though the supply of tears was neverending, as though years of pent up frustration and pain were finally being set loose. I felt so alone.  
  
But, I wasn't for long. One of our house elves, Tenka, came quietly into the room. She also was crying, but she avoided me completely. She crossed over to the bed where lay Mum, and snapped her fingers. In an instant, both of them were gone. Mum was being taken to the embalming rooms in the medical wing. I slowly stood up and straightened out my robes, as though I were about to meet someone. But I wasn't. I put my mother's trunk back into her closet, and put piles of her things over top of it, so that no one would notice it. I was lucky that Father was too busy being an arse, that he didn't see it. I felt that this trunk of hers was something Father didn't know about. It was filled with things of her past, which she had never told me about.  
  
With one last look around, noticing another bloodstain on the bed, I left the room. I knew the house elves would take care of the sheets, and the cleaning of her room. Besides, I couldn't stand being in that room anymore. I could smell her; the perfume she always wore was quite distinctive. I had to get out of there. I ran down the hallway, to the back stairway. Skipping two steps at a time, I arrived at the next floor and to the door to my room. I walked in and lit the little candle lamp that was on my nightstand. I closed my door, and settled onto my bed, knowing that I now had full privacy. Father rarely came up here, unless it was for a punishment.  
  
I took the little green book out of my robes and opened it back to the first page. ~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
"My dear son, Draco, how I love you so much. Today is the day you were born. It is one of the best days of my life. When I first held you, and I saw your face, I knew you would be your father's son. You looked up at me and smiled, as if you recognized, although you had never before seen me either. The laughter in your eyes reminded me so much of your father's that I began to cry. Your Father. Well, considering how I'm sure you would only be reading this because I'm gone, I feel I must explain your history, Draco, though I warn you that it might not be what you expect.  
  
"My son, I went to Hogwarts, as I'm sure you will. While I was there, I met the man of my dreams. We fell in love, and we were inseparable. This man and I were the head boy and girl of our year, I was from Ravenclaw, and he was from Slytherin. This man was my life, and we were engaged soon after graduation. This man's name was Quinlan Malfoy. Oh, how much I love that man, and how much I miss him. We were married about ten months ago from today, and it is a shame that he isn't here to see his son.  
  
Yes, Draco, Quinlan was your father. You see, Lucius and Quinlan Malfoy were twins. Don't believe the myth that the Malfoy family is nothing but dark wizards, Draco. Quinlan was the kindest person you could ever imagine. He and Lucius did not get along though, because Lucius had become evil. He has crossed over and joined with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I do not know what the future will be for us, now that the Dark Lord is rising in power. I fear Him Draco, but more, I fear for you.  
  
Almost a month and a half after Quinlan and I married, his brother came to visit us. I tried to stay clear of him, knowing what kind of man he was. But I came home one night from visiting a friend in Surrey, and I couldn't find Quinlan. I was grabbed from behind, and I heard Lucius' voice mutter something from behind me. He turned me around and pinned me up against a wall. He put a bind on me, so that I couldn't escape, and dragged me into one of the spare bedrooms. On the floor was Quinlan, he was surrounded by dark red blood, and I knew then, that he was dead. Lucius threw me on the floor next to him and I reached out to my husband. He was barely alive, and I was able to whisper to him that he was a father, I had just found out that morning. Lucius had left the room, so he didn't hear me. Quinlan had only enough energy to tell me he loved me, and to take care of our child, because he wouldn't be there for it. He died a few moments later, Draco, and my heart died right along with him.  
  
I knew that Lucius had killed his own brother, but I didn't find out why until a few hours later. Lucius had cast the Imperious curse on me and I had to do whatever he made me. His plan was to take me as his "wife", and produce an heir. With Quinlan dead, all he had to do was claim that it was his right as Quinlan's brother to take care of me. I was forced to marry him, and I was put under the Imperious curse almost every moment of my life. I was raped and beaten, and hidden from public. My friends believed that I had turned to the dark side, and stopped talking to me. Several months later, it became apparent to Lucius that I was pregnant, and he believed that the child was his. Draco, there were moments during these past few months when I would have given anything to end my pain. But I would be reminded of the child, you, who was growing within me. I also remembered that you were Quinlan's son, and the only thing I had left of him. Oh Draco, you look just like him. You have his grey eyes and his nose. You even make the same face when you're not happy. Oh Draco, I'm so scared for you. Lucius believes you are his, and he will raise you to become one of those dreaded deatheaters. I can't do a thing about it because I am rarely free of this curse, and when I am, I am too weak to do anything.  
  
Draco, whenever you read this, no matter how far you probably are in your training, I want you to know that you aren't like Lucius. I can tell already by looking at your tiny form, that there is no speck of malice in you. Though, I'm sure with Lucius being the one to raise you, you will be forced into evil. Draco, you must stop. Get out of it while you can. Don't believe a word that Lucius tells you. You must have your true father's kindness somewhere within you. I don't know what your life will be like as you read this, so I advise you to be careful about how you escape. Lucius has no idea that you aren't his, and if he finds out, he most surely will kill you. Son, I love you, and I want you to live, so be cautious, and wait. I can only hope that you get out, and that you are able to experience true happiness, as I once have. One day, our family will be together again, and I await for that day every moment of my life. If only you knew your father, Draco, life would be so much different for you. I guess my apology to you for not being strong enough to escape is a little late, isn't it? I must go now, before Lucius finds this. I will continue to write in this, as you grow up, and maybe one day, there'll be a chance you might read this and escape. ~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
As I sat there on my bed, reading, my jaw dropped ever lower with each sentence. After that first entry, I saw that Mum had written many others, each mostly filled with encouragement to escape, and a few mentions of Quinlan, my father. Father. How can this happen? My entire life has been a lie. Lucius wasn't my father, and he had raped Mum. He had beaten Mum. He had killed Mum. And he had killed the man who was my true father. That bastard. He will pay for this. I will make him pay. I was trembling with anger now. I knew that what Mum had written must be true. It explained why it wasn't in me to torture anyone, why I couldn't bring myself to do what the other deatheaters did. I sat where I was, clenching my fist, ready to willingly kill the bastard on sight. How dare he do this to me? I didn't know what to do next. How do I get out of this place? How do I escape? How can I kill Lucius?  
  
I don't know how long I sat there, seething with anger and hatred directed at the sorry excuse for a wizard who dared to hurt Mum. It was then that I reopened the diary to read the last entry. Mum had written it two days before: ~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
"Draco, my son, you are now almost grown up. In a few weeks, you will be sixteen. I still cannot believe how much you look like your father more and more each day. My son, I fear that my time is coming near, and I will soon join my husband. Lucius has become more violent with the return of the Dark Lord and I cannot bear the pain much longer. One wrong movement and he will curse me with the Cruciatrus curse. Draco, when you find this, if you accept this, you must go to Professor Dumbledore. Forget what Lucius has put into your mind that he is a fool. He is quite the opposite, and he can help you beyond imagining. You must see him while Lucius is away, and you two must make a plan as to how you can escape Lucius forever. Do not run now, because he will hunt you down and kill you. You must wait until the right moment.  
  
Son, I have been able to contact Professor Dumbledore, and I have told him about us, about Quinlan. He knows, and he is most eager to help you. You must trust him, Draco; he will take care of you. Severus Snape will also look after you, you need only to trust them. I love you, Son, and I want you to never forget who you are, and who you can be. I know that you have already pledged to Lord Voldemort, but I feel that somehow your heart was not in it. Please prove me right, and escape. Professor Dumbledore mentioned something about a way to get rid of the dark mark. Draco, I know your heart. I have seen how much you detest what the deatheaters do, and I know that it is not what you want to do. Once again, Son, I love you, and I will always love you. ~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
Dumbledore. The mention of him reminded me of Hogwarts. All those years there, all of the people whose lives I had made miserable, because "Father" insisted on it. How many times had I watched the other kids in any of the houses laugh and have fun together? I remember those three from Gryffindor: Potter, Weasely, and Granger. I remember being so jealous of the friendship they had, and how I treated them. My life at that school could have been so much better. Those two stupid pigs who followed me around like puppies weren't friends. I had no friends.  
  
I decided right then that I would see Dumbledore. I knew that I couldn't possibly make up for all the pain I had caused the others, and I knew that they probably wouldn't believe me, but I knew also that if I went back to Hogwarts, I might have a chance at avenging my father, and ridding this world of that ugly bastard. Perhaps, I might be able set things right between all of my former classmates. No matter. I would leave this cold mansion and never look back, once Lucius was dead.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
Three days later, after Mum's funeral, I got the chance to escape to Dumbledore. Mum's funeral had been short, barely anyone had come, and I fought hard not to cry in front of everyone. Lucius, the bastard, had sat through the whole thing looking as though he had better things to with his time. I restrained myself from reaching over and strangling him so that he begged for mercy, which he would not receive.  
  
The day after the funeral, Lucius went back to Voldemort's headquarters. I had been given the week off, to deal with my grief. I waited several minutes before apparating to Hogsmeade. I was standing outside of one of the little shops, and I turned to go to the carriage shop. I paid a driver to take me up to the castle, and soon, I was on my way. As we were riding through the village, I noticed how bleak it looked. Only a few years before, I had been strolling down the main road on one of the class trips. Now, the place was bordering on ruin. All of the buildings were decaying; the fronts of the shops and homes were unkept. There were fewer people wandering about, a far cry from the once crowded streets this infamous town once hosted.  
  
Soon, the road left the village, and turned into a wooded path. As the carriage bounced me around from rolling over small stones and ditches, I stared at the trees outside the window, contemplating what I was going to say to Dumbledore. Hell, how was I going to even begin speaking to him? Although all my years at Hogwarts were spent loathing the man, Mum trusted him, and I had no choice but to try and do the same, for her. Don't get me wrong, I am most definitely not the most easily forgiving person in the world, but if Dumbledore could help me avenge the father I never met, then I must swallow my pride and move on. My "other half" came back saying, "What about Potter?" What about him? Then it dawned on me. No doubt, Potter was probably working closely with Dumbledore, and would make life hell for me, as well as his flame-haired twit of a sidekick.  
  
The hell I'm going to put up with their endless taunting. I could hear it now: "What's the matter, Malfoy? Couldn't handle killing the bastard yourself?" Then there was their other little sidekick, Granger. I'm sure she'll have the pleasure of sticking her nose in the air and arrogantly saying "I told you so." Just the thought of them getting the best of me, and being right for it was enough to make me want to turn this carriage around right now. I wasn't about to be ready to handle any of their immaturities. But then, something in the back of my mind spoke up, saying that I must try, for Mum. I didn't know how I was going to get through this, but I owed it to Mum, and. Father. I spent the rest of the way there swallowing my pride as best as I could. I would never have guessed a few months ago that I would go willingly to the "other" side. That I would completely switch my loyalties.  
  
Since Voldemort was the one who was ultimately behind everything, the one who influenced Lucius so much, and ultimately caused my parents' deaths, I could no longer willingly claim support for that delusional, insane monster. It was still dawning on me, after several days, how much I detested that. creature. Voldemort and all of his ideals really didn't suit me. I mean, I wasn't about to go frolicking in some beautiful meadow with the butterflies and become a perfect angel; no, I still was annoyed and impatient with the same things as before. I just wasn't going to help Voldemort torture and kill innocent and ignorant people, just because his father paid no attention to him. The man was clearly demented; your typical I-hate-my-father-and-everyone-must-suffer-for-it kind of person. But what about the dark mark?  
  
How ironic that I just remembered that fact that I was a deatheater. I don't think that will fly very well with Dumbledore. And if I wanted to help the Light side, as I guessed it was called, who would trust me with the black skull on my left arm. That was no small cookie for anyone to miss. Oh well, it was too late to reconsider, because the carriage had arrived at Hogwarts. The building still looked the same from the outside, and the grounds didn't look any different from when I left. I thanked the carriage driver, who looked at me oddly, as though I had something on my face. I was about to look for a mirror before I realized that it was unnatural for a Malfoy to be polite, in any way.  
  
I turned back to enter into the castle through the main entrance. No one was around, so I headed towards Dumbledore's office. I was stopped on my way by a very irritated-looking Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Malfy, what are you doing here?" she asked while partially glaring at me.  
  
"I've come to see Professor Dumbledore. I must talk to him, soon," I replied, looking around for an easy escape. This woman had a way of holding you captive until you lost your mind, if you let her. Ah, thank the gods; I could see Professor Dumbledore's graying form moving quickly down the front corridor. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy, nice to see you. What, may I ask are you doing here?" he asked very politely, as opposed to his fellow nosy, Gryffin Head. "I'm doing fine, Professor. I was wondering if I might speak with you, if you have the time," I answered as polite as I could. I could remember all of the times Mum tried teaching me manners, but it was going to take some getting used to.  
  
"Of course, follow me." With a huff, Professor McGonagall turned and headed down the right corridor as Dumbledore and I headed down the left. Soon, we arrived as the headmaster said his password (sugar roaches), and entered his large office. I had been in there several times, back in my early Hogwarts days, for some childish troublemaking. It was filled with piles and piles of books, parchments, and other little odds and ends. "Have a seat, if you will," said the Professor, breaking the silence that had followed us from the hall. I walked over to the large, overstuffed armchair located in front of Dumbledore's over stacked desk, and sat down. He walked around and finally sat down in his own chair, and then looked up at me.  
  
*********  
  
For the next hour or so, I told the Headmaster everything. I explained to him about that day that I found Mum, about everything in the diary, about my lineage, and about my initiation into deatheaterhood. He listened calmly, and interrupted very few times to ask detailed question about a certain point in my story. It was everything I could do not to show my sadness when I told him of Mum's death. I think that I will not forget everything that Lucius had driven into my mind, and I will always have a problem letting my expressions show.  
  
Dumbledore was, well, he understood. I could tell the news about Mum made him very upset, but somehow I got the impression that he already knew it would have happened. When I was finished telling him about everything, I continued with apologizing, which was so unnatural to me, that I didn't know where to begin.  
  
"Professor, I, I'm not sure what to do. I am sorry for everything that I've done, and I.I know that I've made life miserable for too many people for you to forgive me, but I am sorry, and I really need help. I don't know what else to do, or who else to go to. Mum told me to come to you so, I did. I." I was interrupted from my nervous babbling. I had lost control of my thoughts and my mouth, saying things that I know I meant, but I didn't think I'd say in the first place.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, you've no reason to fear not being accepted by us here. I knew about your true father. As a matter of fact, I knew him when he went to school here. Your mother was able to get messages to me almost every month with updates on yours and her life after Lucius claimed her. You have nothing to worry about right now, except how to escape from Lucius' grasp. I am thankful that you came to your senses. We have been hoping you would realize the truth soon, and now that you have, I think I have a plan." Dumbledore looked at me intently all through this little speech, and then began to tell me of this plan of his.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, I know that by now, you must want nothing but revenge on Lucius. But I think that if you wait, your personal revenge will be sweeter for you. You see, we have a need for information. We need as much information as we can get, and we need someone to get that information for us. Draco, you are already a deatheater, and believe somehow, that, if you stayed at Lucius' house, and don't tell him what you've found out, you could get that information for us. No one could suspect you as long as you cover your tracks, and be careful. I know what I am asking of you is very difficult, and you would be risking your life many times, but we need you. Do you think you can do this?"  
  
I took a moment to take this all in. They wanted me to become a spy, a double agent. They wanted me to stay in that mansion with that bastard for longer than I should. I wasn't sure how long I would last in that place without strangling the monster. Voldemort would find out, summon me, and kill me. Then where would we be? But if I stayed, and did this spying for the Light side, we'd win the war and Lucius would go down with Voldemort. Then I remembered Mum, which I seemed to be doing a lot lately, and I knew that she would have wanted me to do this. I told the headmaster that I would help as best as I could.  
  
He was so happy, I could claim that his smile literally stretched from ear to ear. I knew that what I had just agreed to had changed my life completely, once again. My stress level was going to skyrocket, and who knows what else will happen? After this very long talk, Dumbledore and I worked out the details of when I would meet him and what information I would need to get for him. In exchange, he promised what he could, which was sanctuary for me, should I need it, and the help in avenging my parents. Then the topic of our conversation turned to a more heated subject.  
  
"Since you will be working so closely with us, you must know who all you will be working with. I must inform you that Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley are both helping me in several ways, and I have a feeling that you will also be working with them, rather closely, so you might want to start considering what you will say to them next time you come." With that said, Dumbledore allowed me a moment to take that in. So, I did. I was going to have to explain everything to those pompous jerks that had made life miserable for me. Not that they knew it, they were just the reason Lucius beat me so much, because I could never get the better of them. And now I was going to have to work with them.  
  
At that thought, Dumbledore interrupted my thoughts. "Now, about your darkmark."  
  
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Taaadaaa!!1 I know, it's reeeeaaaally long, but I apologize for the end here, it was really late at night and I wasn't quite thinking clearly. Or perhaps it was nervousness from the glare that Jenn has been giving me the past week because of taking so long with this chapter.(runs away and hides while meekily threatening, "I'll sic my mommie on you!!' we all know how big that threat is;}) Anyway, please review people!!!!! 


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER TO END ALL DISCLAIMERS!!!!!!~ I will not be making further disclaimers unless I think of an absolutely fantastic one. So, know now that I do not own or claim rights to any Harry Potter character or place. I own only my plot, my characters, and sometimes, my mind.

A/n~ Sorry it's been so long. Finally my lacrosse season is over so I have lots of time to work on this. Hey! You people need to review, cuz I live off of them. Thank you to those who do, I really do appreciate them all. Please, once again, critique me, make some suggestions if you have any, ask questions!!! This is in Hermione's pov, and still in that weird past/present tense. Also, the name Hermione gave everyone in chapters one and three is supposed to be spelled 'Aguila', not Aquila. 

Chapter 5

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_"…From the eyes of a child. Slowly those feelings were clouded by what I know now."_

            Those days that I told you about, those first two days at Carceris Crudelis, soon passed into obscurity. All of us prisoners soon fell into our usual routines of eat, work, eat, and sleep. Those times when any of us would talk to each other, the conversation was soon cut short. Not because of the guards hushing us, but because of the lack of subjects to talk about. No one wanted to talk about their pasts, or their families, because it brought back to many painful memories. No one really wanted to remember that their loved ones were far away or even dead. 

            It had been thirteen months since I first came to this hellhole. And it had been at least eleven months since the incident, in which I had slowly healed. Eleven months since that horrible night when, literally the floodgates of Hell broke open for me. In those eleven months, I slowly became stronger, not only physically, but also in willpower and in mind. You might say that becoming stronger in mind, for me, would be impossible, but it wasn't. I willed myself to keep going, to hold on to what innocence I had left, though there was barely a sliver. I became what you would call the model prisoner, doing everything I was told without causing too much distraction. I had this reputation among the overbearing guards as being catty, and very rebellious. But the point is, they couldn't touch me, without their wands, that is.

            I also became devoted to helping out the rest of my fellow comrades. The overseers, even though they knew that I couldn't escape with the bracelet still on me, they also knew that wouldn't stop me from outwitting and harming them in some way. I had already made an example out of two guards, who both were on extended leave for several weeks because of the damage I had done to them. It was all, of course, done in self-defense. What else would you do if you had two slimy, chunky, troll-like creatures breathing down your neck and forcing themselves upon you. I mean, all I did was grab one of their wands and hex them a few advanced curses before the others came and cursed me. So now, whenever they began to bully around with one of the prisoners, where else would I be but in their faces cursing the life out of their lungs? The best part of all, though, was that the guards were usually the same two I had hexed before. You'd think that the twits would have learned the first time, but no, they kept trying to see how far they could go before pissing me off. The other guards stayed away and didn't usually pick on the prisoners, at least that I knew of. They were either too scared to mess with me, or too stupid to even know their danger.

            Somehow, I involuntarily became in charge of my cabin. Sean had been found impaled on one of the pitchforks from the barn one morning, and they concluded that he had killed himself during the night. His death shocked us all. We had all heard of or seen people being taken into one of the mysterious buildings at the end of that rocky, grey avenue, never to be seen again, but never had any of us had actually seen one of our number dead in plain sight. Apparently he had thrust the oversized fork into his middle, and bled to death. That day, I stayed away form the rest of my friends, sick to my stomach from thinking about Sean. I didn't know him all that well, and, even though I thought he was rather depressed all the time, I couldn't imagine what he suffered so much that made him do it. If I could survive what I did, surely he could survive other things, couldn't he? I was beginning to tire of losing people, whether I knew them or not.

            In any case, The guards immediately appointed me the head of my unit. I took on all of his duties, making sure everyone was up at the crack of dawn, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be, doing what they were supposed to do, at the time they were supposed to do it. But somehow, I felt that I began doing more than Sean did. He shut himself off from the rest of us, never letting us know anything about him. I, on the other hand, began opening up and talking with my cabin mates. There were so many times I would sit up and talk to the different people in my cabin, each of us getting to know so much about each other. Besides the memories most people tended to keep to themselves, we talked about our likes and dislikes, our loves and our fears. 

            Soon, not only did the mages in my unit come to me, but others throughout the camp began to talk to me when they could. My friends from that first day in the cafeteria soon also became in charge of their units, and people also started coming to them about their problems. We unknowingly became the inmate leaders of the prisoners. Because of all of the reading I had once done, I knew quite a lot of healing incantations that could be done without wands, so, whenever one of the prisoners got hurt, they would come to me or Niamh, who also was skilled in healing. If anyone had problems with another prisoner, they would come to one of us five, and we would settle it to the best of our knowledge. These people soon became the reason I lived, the reason I didn't just give up in the mornings. These people depended on me, and I couldn't just up and die on them. I devoted every spare moment to helping the other inmates, so as not to be forced to think about the incident. It was only at night that I had to cry myself to sleep in the little room I had inherited from Sean. But during the day, I had to be strong; I had to put on a brave face so that the others would not be as scared as I was.

            Liam, Connor, Ceara, Niamh, and I were soon the closest friends. We still held back things from each other, we each knew it, but we were able to make the best of a horrible situation. About Seven months after we arrived, we began developing a plan. You'd think we would have tried to escape earlier than seven months, but the truth was that we were to tired to think beyond our next meal, or our next hour of sleep. In any case we had devised this plan after several weeks of noticing things. They weren't significant things, just little things like, a trunk that one of the inmates had been transporting for the Master had mysteriously split open and out spilled hundreds of wands. It didn't take long for the prisoner to recognize his own in the giant pile of seemingly wooden sticks. Thankfully, that inmate informed Ceara about the wands. That was when we first began to plan. We realized that trunk had every prisoners' wand in it, even the ones who disappeared into the main building. The inmate told us that he quickly cleaned up the mess before anyone saw and put the trunk in one of the storage cellars, where his overseer had told him to put it. We found out that only the Master had keys to those cellars, and that to get to those wands, we would have to steal the keys without his knowing. 

            I knew that if several of us were able to get a hold of our wands, we would be able to overpower the guards and escape. Each night after dinner, the five of us would sit together at a table and quietly discuss ways to escape. We would come up with these outrageous plans, only to discard them once we considered all of the risks involved. But then, one night, Liam came up with a brilliant idea, one that not even I could have come up with. One of the prisoners, a younger teenage girl was the Master's wife's house servant. She often cleaned the study where the Master usually retired to at night. She had found several bottles of poisons, one of them identified as Hianoa. Hianoa was a natural deadly poison, one that ate away at the insides within a matter of hours, slowly killing each organ of the body. It was odorless, tasteless, and colorless; an easy way to take out an enemy. 

             Our plan formed into one that included the girl taking some of the poison and putting it in a small phial the next time she cleaned that room. She would give it to me, so that I could hide the small phial in the kitchen area where no one could find it. When the time came, we would poison the Maaster's wine, as well as his nasty wife's, and whoever else was in their manor at the time. One they were drugged, Liam and Connor would take the keys from the Master, who would by that time be feeling quite cold, and go to the cellar where the wands were, and bring out the trunk. We would arm as many prisoners as we could, disarm the bracelets, and then make a run for it. If any of the remaining guards tried to attack, we would hex them into the next century and keep running. It was a great plan, we just had to get everything in order. Everyone would have to be in the right place at the right time. Everything had to go smoothly. 

            Soon enough, we were able to pick the day to do it. One of the prisoners, an elderly female mage, had found a planner on the Master's desk that showed his calendar. Apparently, three months from when she found it, the Master's brother was to come and celebrate the Master's birthday. There was to be a feast for the Master and his family and his employees. Most of the guards would be inside eating, leaving only a few to watch the prisoners. Perfect! We could kill an entire flock of birds with one stone. We began to plan out who would be where that night. We secretly spread around to the other prisoners where they had to be, without telling them why. We couldn't let the entire plan get out.

            This brings us to the day I had previously mentioned, the one that changed my life. The other two days did change my life, but not as significantly as this one. It was about two weeks before the day our plan would come together, somewhere around the middle of June. We were all getting tense and short with each other. People were getting excited, at least those who knew about the plan. I myself was getting very anxious to get out of there. Of course the gods must have hated me because they had to send a new shipment of prisoners. As if my life wasn't getting stressful enough. I was on my way with my cabin to breakfast early that morning, and the sun was already warming to a sweltering ninety- some degrees. Once we got into the mess hall, and got our food, I headed straight for the usual table where the others were. I noticed as I sat down that Connor was looking very agitated.

            "What's the matter, Connor?" I asked him as I picked up my fork to eat the disgustingly bland "food" on my plate.

            "Danny, the Polish boy in my cabin found out that we're getting a new shipment in." Dead silence all around the table. That wasn't good. We hadn't gotten new prisoners in several months, and we had hoped that that meant we were winning the war. Apparently not.

            "When?" asked Niamh quietly.

            "Today, in the mid afternoon. They're already in that first building, probably getting branded as we speak. The guards'll be calling the camp into formation to distribute them among us. We will have the rest of the day off to get them situated," answered Connor. He was obviously not happy. Neither was I. this meant a whole boat load of people we were going to have to organize in less than two weeks without stirring up suspicion. We ate our breakfast in silence, thinking about the new task ahead.

            We all went out to our work that morning, and worked as usual, until the guards began to pull us back to camp by our bracelets. We got into the usual formation in front of the mess hall, in long rows of sweating, smelly, dirty people. The head guard, the most unbearable of them all then announced the arrival of a "new batch of cookies," as he put it. I hated this man. He was so arrogantly despicable, I found it hard to look at him for longer than a moment. It was all I could do not to shiver in disgust.

            Soon, one by one, the new inmates were slowly led out into the courtyard where we stood. They were quickly sorted into the different units, and we were dismissed. I had nine new charges under my wing, although only half of them looked younger than me. Without looking at them, I asked them to get in line behind the others, and to follow me. I made sure to check the other newcomers to see if I recognized anyone, and I didn't. As we walked back to the cabin, I noticed the silence that surrounded the newbies. No doubt they were all afraid, and trying to take in everything at once. I pitied them as I pitied myself. They were walking into the worst place they could be.

            We arrived at the cabin, and I opened the half-decaying door. As everyone came in, I asked them all to sit down. My nine old charges, the ones who had been here a while, quickly obeyed, followed by the other nine. I then went into the same speech every other cabin leader would be saying then; the same speech that Sean had gone through with us. I then introduced myself to them with the usual Aguila. Then, I had the first nine introduce themselves before I had the newcomers do the same. I took that time to look at each one of them, so that I could memorize their names and faces. After a girl from southern France introduced herself as Nicole, another voice spoke up. It was a baritone, and belonged to a fair-haired teen of around the same age as me, or maybe a year older, I couldn't tell. It was then that I realized that he looked so familiar. I knew that I had seen him before, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

            "My name is Bran, I am from London," he said with the familiar British lilt, as he glanced around at the others. If it weren't for the fact that his hair was a darker, sandy-blonde, and his skin tone was a bit tan, I would say he was… No, it couldn't be, not in here. But at that moment, he turned his head towards my direction, and looked at me straight in the eyes. My jaw dropped to the floor in shock. I knew those eyes. They were the same frosty shade of silver, and yet they weren't as cold as I remembered them.

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a/n~ AAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I am so proud of myself!! I have hated getting cliffhangered, and finally it is my turn!!! I'm sorry, folks, but I must say that it feels good to do this to people. I think it shall be happening quite often. *evil cackle, as she ducks from the ominous piles of fruit being hurled in her direction.* Teehee. Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon. I'm feelin' some major anger problems coming. Well, anyways, as usual, click that button and tell me what you think!!!


	6. Chapter Six

"Hi kids, Five Iron Frenzy, 'When I Go Out': 'WhenIgooutIplayinthestreets,Igethitbycars,Imakemashedpotatoes,Igethitbycars!!!' *dunh, dunh, dunh8 Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!";} Draco's POV again~

Chapter 6

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_"And what do you think you'd ever say? I won't listen anyway…"_

            "You mean that bloody git has to work with us?!?!?!" the infamous Harry Potter was shouting at Professor Dumbledore. I hadn't seen him since the end of my fourth year. He had grown several feet, and his head finally fit proportionately with his body. Well, almost. I was sitting in Professor Dumbledore's office again; only this time, Ron and Harry were there. It had been several weeks  since I had first come to the headmaster, and now he was telling Ron and Harry about their new co-worker. They were obviously a tad on the unhappy side.

            "Professor Dumbledore, he's a bloody _Death Eater!!!!! Do you have any idea what he could do? He's probably just spying on us so he can go back to his bloody father, and give away our secrets!!!" this coming from the six-foot something, red haired weasel sitting to my left. That statement finally got a reaction out of me. I jumped out of my seat to pound his face in; the man was__ not my father. But before I could reach the lanky git, Dumbledore stopped me._

            "Boys! Settle down, and behave. Ron, if you will be patient, perhaps Mr. Malfoy, here, can explain a few things to you." With that, Dumbledore nodded at me to proceed. As both the Weasel and I sat back down, I glanced at the scarlet faced prick sitting next to me. Potter also faced me with a look of pure hatred. Before I could even begin speaking, Potter spoke up. 

"Professor, forgive me, but I will not believe a word that comes out of that ferret boy, no matter what you say. This is a waste of time."

"Then perhaps, Mr. Potter, would believe him if he took some Veritaserum? He could speak nothing but the truth, and you would have to believe it. That is, if Mr. Malfoy agrees to take it." I nodded at the Headmaster, silently agreeing at this. We had already predicted that this would happen. The two gits were too stubborn to trust their leader. At the suggestion, Potter seemed to settle down a bit, contemplating the situation.

"Alright, Headmaster, if he drank some, then I would believe him. As long as I get to ask him any question, I will agree to listen." The weasel also nodded at Potter's proposition. They were both glaring at me now, challenging me to make one move against them.

"As long as the questions are within reason, then I believe we have a deal. Excuse me a moment, while I go retrieve the potion." The Professor then got up and walked out of the room through a small door behind his desk. I sat there staring at the two comrades. I had to give it to them; they never let their guards down. Tension was building. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a movement by Dumbledore's desk. It was Fawkes, the Headmaster's pet. He was on his perch, eying us, probably making sure we didn't slit each other's throats. 

Potter and Weasley both were still glaring at me. Yeah, I was being very intimidated by their powerful staredown. Right. If they thought they were threatening me, they were obviously still the naive little brats I remembered. Once again, we were interrupted by the Professor. He walked back into the room with a glass phial of the liquid that I would be drinking. Potter and Weasley both eyed the liquid suspiciously. Dumbledore made his way over and handed the glass to me. Without hesitation, I pulled out the cork and lifted the phial to my lips. As I drank the entire contents in the phial, I kept my eyes on the other two. They also never took their eyes off of me.

            "Well, then. Shall we begin? Mr. Potter, you first," suggested the Headmaster. Potter looked over at the headmaster, as if he were trying to gain some last encouragement. Geez, you'd think the boy was going to his grave or something. Finally, Potter looked at me and asked his first question of a very long night.

            "Where's Hermione?"

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            The rest of that night, I was asked so many questions by the two of them, it all became a blur. They asked me why I was there, and wasn't I a Death Eater? Then, once they realized that I was on their side, they asked me why I switched sides, why I changed. Feeling the full effects of the potion, I, of course, answered everything to the best of my knowledge. I told them about my Mum, my Father, and Lucius. Although I didn't go into great details about my story, I told them enough to convince them of my loyalty to the Light Side, as I guessed it was called. Then, when I was finished my explanation, I started the unfamiliar process of apologizing.

            I must say, that, up until this point, that was the hardest thing I had ever done in my entire life. Here I was, the infamous Draco Malfoy apologizing to Harry Potter and his faithful sidekick, Ron Weasley. These were the guys that I had spent my last five or six years detesting. I had hated them every moment of every day for so long, that the thought of actually apologizing to them, admitting that I was wrong, was almost inconceivable. Yet, there I was.

            I did eventually get through it, trying to keep my dignity the entire time by looking at them straight in the face. But there were moments where I had to look away, because I couldn't handle the way they were looking at me. They weren't looking at me with hatred anymore. No, it was something entirely different. At first I thought it was pity in their eyes, but it wasn't that either. Later on, as I had thought back on it, I realized that it was approval. I guess they had accepted my explanation, and already, they were ready to look past all of my mistakes. 

 After I had eventually apologized, they both kind of sat in their seats for a few minutes while I looked at the floor. I knew that they needed time to process everything, but the suspense was killing me. Wait, why was I so anxious about having their approval all of a sudden? I didn't really know the answer to that, but the truth was, I was anxious. I wanted them to accept me, and possibly let me in their world of all that forgive and forget stuff. I know this must be confusing, since I am contradicting myself. When have I ever cared about what others thought of me?

All the time, came the next thought. I had to make myself realize that this was my chance. I could possibly gain a few friends if I acted civilly. If I had these two people's acceptance, I just might be able to become normal, and do what I want to do. I could say anything, and not be afraid that I would be cursed. My thoughts were becoming more confused by the moment. One minute I was trying to be the stubborn, I-don't-need-anyone git that I had become, and the next I was the desperate softie in need of a friend. Just when I thought I was going to go crazy, Potter's voice brought me back to reality.

"Apology accepted," he said, and his friend to my left nodded in agreement. That was it? I mean, there were no accusations, no name calling? No comebacks and threats? I looked at both of them, questioning their answer. If they really did accept my apology, where do we go from here? Of course Dumbledore came to the rescue.

"Well then, why don't we move on to other business-"

"Wait, Professor, I wanted to say something else." It was Potter. He was looking at me intently now, and seemed as if he was struggling within himself. "I.. I wanted to say, that is, I … I wanted to apologize also." He looked relieved to have finally made that declaration. Weasley looked shocked as usual. Then Potter started again.

"I guess we both owe you an apology for the way we also treated you. The fights weren't all one-sided and I know that we were also at fault." He stopped there, and Weasley seemed to realize that Potter was right, and nodded again in agreement. I wasn't quite sure how to take that. They were apologizing to me after all that I had done to them? Yet, somehow, I felt better, like finally, something was right. It dawned on me that I had just gained their acceptance, and that I had accomplished what I had been waiting to do for a long time. We weren't at each other's throats anymore, and it felt somewhat peaceful. And, judging from the way they were looking at me, I figured the feeling was mutual.

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That night, Dumbledore explained to me about what kind of things he would need my help with. He also explained how I would be working with Harry and Ron, as I eventually learned to call them. I went back to living with Lucius, the bastard, and I would still go back to the deatheater meetings. Voldemort didn't suspect a thing, he didn't even know I had even gone back to Hogwarts. I would report to Dumbledore every Tuesday and Thursday when Lucius went for his private meetings with Voldemort. Dumbledore was able to cast some advanced spell that covered my tracks, whenever I went to Hogwarts. I would get as much information from all of the paperwork that I kept track of for Voldemort, searching for anything that would help my new team. 

For almost a year, I worked under those conditions, watching my back everywhere I went to make sure I wasn't caught. I worked closely with Harry and Ron most of the time when I was at Hogwarts, and soon, we began to hang out and actually have fun together. It felt weird at first, joking around, laughing with the boy-who-lived and his sidekick. But I found that we had a lot in common, like our obsessions for Quidditch, and tastes in, ahem, witches. I know it must come as a shock to you, but being in their good graces and, shockingly, friends with them was somewhat satisfying. Granted I couldn't talk to them about everything, but I did have people I could finally relate to. Harry and Ron soon became my closest of friends. They would always sympathize with me after an excruciatingly painful day with Lucius, and they were always there to support me.

I'm sure by now you are all falling out of your seats in shock, but you are also probably asking a question. Where was know-it-all Granger? Good question. That first night with Harry and Ron, when they asked me about Granger, I truthfully answered that I had no idea. According to them, she had disappeared about a year before that night, and they had guessed she was kidknapped by the death eaters. But I had never heard of anything about her at any of my meetings. There was no trace of her, like she had completely disappeared off the face of the earth. But I continued to keep an open eye for her. Harry and Ron talked of her constantly, to the point where I felt as if I knew her myself. They got more worried about her as each day passed, hoping without cause that she might one day be found.

One day, Dumbledore came across something in all of his parchments and books that definitely changed history for the Light Side. He found a spell, one that would require many things. He wouldn't tell us any specifics about it, only that we needed to find Hermione, if she was still alive. I didn't understand what was so special about her that she needed to be rescued above anyone else, but I followed orders.  I spent several months trying to look for any sign of her in all of the files that I had organized. There were so many files that it took forever to go through them all. That's when I came across the files for the deatheater "camps."

One day, about a year after I had started working for Dumbledore, I came across the files for the camp at the Campbell Manor. It was somewhere out in the highlands of Scotland, and it was one of the largest of the camps they had. The file had a list of prisoners, and there cabin assignments, as well as the date of their arrival at the camp, and death, if it came to them. The list was able to magically update itself, so the names changed every once in a while. But there was one on there that caught my attention so quickly, I almost fell off my chair. I was alone in Voldemort's file room, and I could hear no one around. Thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me, I decided to look at the list one more time.

My jaw dropped in shock again when I realized that I wasn't being tricked. The person who was listed as a cabin leader in the seventh bunkhouse was none other than Hermione Granger. The paper gave her ID number and told the date of her arrival, the same day Ron and Harry told me many times was the day she disappeared. I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was near and slipped the entire file into the pocket of my robes. Voldemort was too confident in himself and his security that he didn't even put any spells on all of his paperwork. So, that meant I could take anything I wanted and no one would know. I stood up from desk, closed all of the file doors, and walked out of the room. As I came out, I almost bumped into someone. 

I looked up to see that it was another office worker, Tim, who worked just down the corridor from me. I muttered an apology as he kept walking, not even bothering to turn around. As he rounded the corner, I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't know why, but I was really tense. I mean, all that I did was find the information for Dumbledore that I had been searching for, for so long. It's not like I was doing anything that could get me discovered and killed by Voldemort or anything. 

I locked the door to the room and walked down the corridor and into the reception room, where I apparated back to Hogsmeade. I needed to get a hold of the Professor quickly so that we could figure out how to get Granger. She was in a camp, one of the many camps that the Light side had been trying to break into for so many months, to rescue the prisoners, but each time we failed horribly. How the hell were we going to get her out?

I made my way to the headmaster's office as quickly as the carriage I had hailed, allowed me. Soon, I was at Hogwarts and rushing through the main corridor. I was going so fast that I didn't see someone coming from one of the many doorways to my right. I collided with the bent, graying old man who been heading towards the opposite direction. As I stood up, I helped the Headmaster to his feet, himself looking a bit ruffled. Without waiting for him to say anything I was the one who spoke first.

"Professor, I found her. I found Grange." That was probably the last thing he was expecting to come out of my mouth; the first was probably an apology for knocking him over, which I hastened to do after I helped him up. H looked at me in shock, as though I had told him the sky was purple with red olka dots or something. But then he sobered, and nodded his head. He motioned for me to follow him to his office, and so I walked with him there. As soon as we arrived, I sat down in my usual chair as the professor sat in his own.

I proceeded to tell him about the file I had come across and about its contents. I brought it out of my robes and showed it to him, who in turn, looked at the file as if he was just given a present for his birthday. Really, you'd think that a man that old wouldn't be able to facially express much emotion, but if you caught him on a good day, it could be as entertaining as a fireworks show. He read through the file silently, his eyes smiling wider by the moment.

"She's alive, then. Good work, Draco, very good. Now all we have to do is get her out of there." I nodded silently, agreeing that we were in quite a dilemma. For the next hour or so, we both sat there, trying to come up with a way to rescue Granger. I could not think, for the life of me, of a way to get her out without being discovered and/or killed. Each plan that I came up with sounded more ridiculous than the one before it. Then Professor's face changed from pensive to enlightened.

"I have a plan…"

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A few weeks later, I found myself being tattooed by the witch at the Campbell manor. The pain, although sharp, was bearable. I then proceed with the rest of the group of muggleborns into the same wide courtyard that Granger first come into several years before. I took in all the bleak surroundings. The same grey buildings that were slowly rotting, the same rocky avenue that she walked down every day, the same bunkhouses she had grown used to. I looked at all of the new prisoners who were scared out of their minds. They had no idea what would happen to them.

I remembered why I was here. Dumbledore's amazing rescue plan involved me becoming a prisoner of the camp, finding her and, and apparating back home. Well the plan didn't quite turn out that way. We found out about the ways they kept track of their prisoners, and how they kept them in line. I had to be able to disband the spell on Granger's bracelet before she could leave without anyone noticing. I also had to be able to get a bracelet myself, as well as an ID number, and truly become one of the prisoners. My wand was enchanted by Professor Dumbledore fit in the palm of my hand, too small to be detected by anyone. I took on the identity of someone else, someone named Daeron Bailey. I altered my physical feature just a little to make sure that no one could recognize me.

            That's when I was placed in a cottage by myself and captured by deatheaters who had found my "records" of being a muggleborn mage, and hunted me down. I was brought into and through the exact same buildings as Granger, and went through the same process she did. I was jolted back to reality by one of my new fellow inmates, who had stumbled in a rock in the courtyard we were in. He mumbled something, probably an apology, and walked off to another group of people. That's when we were called to attention by a guard of some sort. He made us line up, silently, and then the prisoner leaders of the units came into our courtyard, and stood silently as we were sorted into our new bunks. I looked for Granger, and I almost missed her, if it hadn't been for her dark auburn hair that stood out from the others.

            I almost didn't recognize her. She had changed so much. She was much thinner, and much paler than I remembered. And her clothing was worse. The camp had given her a robe that was meant for a ten year old, it was so short, and ripped in several pieces. Her hair was in knots, a mess of the untamed curls that I remembered. Her face had changed too. She no longer smiled, only watched the people being sorted with no emotion, no expression on her face. I was, thankfully, put into her unit, and soon, we were ordered to march. I fell in to step behind my new cabinmates, and marched silently. We passed several long, one-story buildings that were decaying, until we came to one and stopped.

            Granger turned around, and motioned for us to go inside. I watched her the entire time, as she helped several of the new ones into the cabin. She smiled assuringly at each one of us, as if she hoped it would calm the prisoners' fears. As I passed her, and walked into the rotten-smelling bunkhouse, I didn't look her in the eyes, and she didn't recognize me. We were herded in and she asked us to sit on the dirt floor, in a circle. We all sat down as she introduced herself to us.

            "Hello, I am Aguila."

            She proceeded to tell us about the work we were going to do, and what was expected of us if we wanted to survive. I tuned out a bit, while trying to figure out what Aguila meant. Why didn't she go by Hermione? I couldn't think for long, because Granger told us to go around the circle introducing ourselves. One by one, each person told their name, and where they were from. When it came time for me to introduce myself, I quietly spoke up.

"My name is Bran, I am from London." That was all I said, and I looked around at he others as they acknowledged my identity. And then I looked over at Granger. She had been looking at me questioningly, as though she felt she remembered me from somewhere. I looked up into her eyes for the first time, and finally got a reaction from her. Her eyes got so big and everything in her expression shouted recognition. She knew who I really was, without a doubt. She let out an inaudible gasp as she realized that the one and only Draco Malfoy was sitting in front of her. It was quite entertaining, actually.

Her eyes scared me though. They weren't what I remembered them. They used to be light blue, and smiling, especially when she was with Harry and Ron. But now, they were, well, they were dead. It looked as if there wasn't any life left in them, as though she had grown up too fast and seen too much. I couldn't believe that she had lost all of the emotion from her eyes. What could have done that to her? How badly had she been treated? I suffered another wave of guilt as I realized that this was all the deatheater's fault. She had lost all happiness because of them, because of Lucius. And yet she was still alive.

As quick as lightning, she took control of her expression, and set it back to indifference. None of the others had taken any notice of her reaction, and she moved on to the rest, eyeing me every once in a while, probably to make sure it was really me. After everyone was finished, she said we had a little while to talk to eachother before it was lights out time. As everyone stood, she came towards me, with a glare in her eyes, warning me of some possible danger coming. She came up to me and, quietly, so that no one could hear said:

"Follow me."

*******************

A/n~ Sorry bout the long delay, folks. It's nearing the end of school, and I'm trying to pass with decent grades and all. It's not like I don't need to get into any colleges or anything. We all know education is highly overrated, right? Well anyway. I thouroughly enjoyed that cliffie, cuz I got such a great reaction. I think I shall do that every once in a while, just to keep you on your toes:}*smiles evilly* HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

 I want to thank all of my reviewers:

Silverdust172~ Yeah, you're right, the whole camp thing was somewhat inspired by the death camps during WW2. I was reading the book Night when I first started plotting the story, and I guess it worked itself into the story! Thanks for reading!!!

Catherine~ That's exactly the same question I'm asking!!!!!!!!!!!

And to~ Stacey, Stephanie, Girl-named-Belle, Ann22, Fire Dragon, my #1 homie, Quicksilvermad, Gr8Sk8er, Whitney!!!!!!, Draco Lover, and Yuriko

Thanks for the reviews, they really make my day better!!!  


	7. Chapter seven

A/N~"I wan' som chickon soup; no chickon, jus' sa soup!!" 

AA/N~ I just want all of you readers to know: I DON'T CARE IF THE FIFTH BOOK COMES OUT IN SIX DAYS, I'M GOING TO FINISH MY STORY NO MATTER HOW INTENT ROWLING IS ON DESTROYING MY PLOT!!!!!!!!!!!! AND RON IS NOT HERMIONE MATERIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermione's PoV:

Chapter 7

**********

_"Where has my heart gone? An uneven trade for the real world."_

            As I regained control of my jaw, which was still gracing the floor with its presence, I tried to make sense of the situation. Here I was, in the middle of a _Deatheater's _camp, and sitting in front of me, with that same "innocent" smirk on his nasty face is _Draco Malfoy. How ironic, that he would show up. But then I realized what was happening. He was a spy, sent by the other deatheaters, to make sure we weren't planning on escaping anywhere in the near future. I can't believe this!!!! How dare him!!! Just when we were about to finally get out of this hell hole, HE has to show up, the bastard._

            I swallowed every insult that I was about ready to hurl at him, and calmly waited for the other new inmates to finish their introductions. I didn't want to make a scene, so I waited until after I dismissed them for a few minutes before lights out. I walked over to where he was sitting, watching his every move. I didn't trust him with a fly in a padded room. Who knows what kind of curses he knew by now. I knew that I was the more vulnerable one at this point, and if I wanted to stay alive and help the others escape, I needed to tread very carefully.

            The whole time the others had introduced themselves, and even after they got up to walk around, he sat in his place, watching me. I could feel his cruel eyes following my move. I finally summoned the courage to make my way over to him, and I silently asked him to follow me. None of the other prisoners could hear; they were already wandering around, nervously chatting with each other. I led the ferret boy towards my small room, silently opening the door that creaked ever so lightly as I pushed on it. I turned halfway around and motioned for him to enter, avoiding eye contact, because I was afraid I was going to kill the bastard.

            He paraded into the sorry excuse for a room like he owned it, and turned around to face me. I had shut the door, making sure no one in the main room had noticed us. I didn't want to cause any unnecessary panic. I leaned against the back of the door and folded my arms over my chest. I then proceeded to glare at him, with some unconscious intent of slicing him in half. He, of course, glared right back, stepping up to the challenge. That was one thing I had to give him credit for; after all these years, he still never backed down. That's when I decided to grow up and move on.

            "What the hell are you doing here?" I hissed as menacingly as I could. Not that I expected anything truthful that would satisfy my curiosity, but the obvious question was dying to be asked.

            "Hello, Granger, or Aguila is what you go by now. Interesting name. I believe I've heard it somewhere. What could it mean, I wonder?" He was avoiding the question altogether. The stupid git thought I was really that transparent, didn't he? He really thought he could just slip in here unnoticed and spy on us. That bastard, I'll make him wish he never saw daylight. All of my pent up frustration and anger and hurt was threatening to force my hands to strangle him. He was sitting there with the same usual smirk on his face, like was better than me. I was really angry, and I think I could justify that he happened to be an innocent bystander when I lost control of my hands, don't you think? But I summoned my dignity once again.

            "Ferret, I asked you a question, and I expect it to be answered soon." Once again, I spoke through my teeth so as to keep myself from yelling and attacking him. I really was starting to get angry. I wasn't quite sure why he was making me so angry. Maybe it was because the first familiar face I get to see after two years is this snake's insipid face. Why couldn't it have been someone I was at least friends with? Anyone but him!!!

            He surprised me though. After my last question, instead of anger flashing through his eyes, and instead of him lashing out at me, I saw something else flash through his eyes. Something I couldn't quite read. Something I couldn't have ever imagined Malfoy ever possessing, and yet… no, it couldn't be. Did I just see _pity?_ Was he capable of such an emotion? No, I was probably just hallucinating again. He regained control of his expression and set it back to the usual impassive and unreadable stare. I really should give him a certificate. He's been in my presence these past few minutes, and not time has he called me a mud blood. I'm shocked!!! Then he did another thing that I imagined he could do in a million years. He started to smile. Soon he was grinning like an idiot, like he has won the Quidditch Cup or something.

            "I find it laughable, now that I'm here, that I am actually going to tell you why I'm here. You will never believe me anyway, will you?" He said this with such amusement in his voice that I got confused. Was he trying to mock me or something? What was his game? He was sitting there, laughing. _Laughing! I looked at him with the most contempt I had in my body, and he was gasping for breath, he was laughing so hard! What was going on? What the hell is he trying to pull on me? Then, as if nothing had happened, he once again regained control._

            "I'm sorry; I just realized that I have no way of proving to you the reason of why I'm here. You won't believe me, no matter what I say." He shook his head, starting to chuckle to himself. He looked around, and decided he would sit down on the dust-ridden floor. I proceeded to sit on the edge of my mattress, watching him constantly. As I sat down, he spoke up again.

            "Gra- Aguila, I have no way of proving what I'm going to tell you, but I'm going to try anyway." He stopped, hesitating to move on. His voice seemed somewhat different. He spoke without the malice that I had grown used to. There was no evil in the way he spoke to me. His eyes, although they were glaring at me, at the same time, they weren't filled with the usual hatred. Now I was really confused. What the hell is going on?  He looked down at the floor as he sat Indian-style, and started to fidget with some speck of dirt on the floor. Was he actually nervous? Wait, who am I kidding? Those deatheaters probably hired the best-known actor they had amongst them, and sadly, it happened to be ferret boy. This was all an act, a way of trying to gain my trust, just to throw it all in my face at the end, when they kill my friends.

            He was doing a great job so far. I almost believed his nervousness, and I almost fell for the regretful look that he had plastered on his face. A load of bull, all of it. I sat back against the wall, and waited for him to give his fake speech, with some outrageous explanation as to why he treated me like I was nothing for so many years. He was still fidgeting, now he was twiddling his thumbs, and he pretended to fascinated by them.

            "I haven't got all night, Malfoy." He looked up, startled, as though he had forgotten where he was. Then, as he looked at me again, he began his "speech". 

***************

            I sat there for the next twenty minutes as he went into this story of his, saying something about his mother, and about Lucius. I kind of tuned him out, not caring what he had to say. He seemed to drone on and on, staring at the floor the entire time. I have to give him credit, he never once broke into a smirk, nor did his voice change from the monotonous tone it had taken when he had started. Then, I heard him mention names that I had pushed to the recesses of my mind for so long. He mentioned Harry and Ron. I almost jumped off my seat to strangle him again. I immediately tuned back into what he was saying.

            "Harry, Ron, and I-

            "Don't you even dare speak their names, you bastard! How dare you even think you can come in here and do this to me. How dare you even come in here and mock me like this! Are you amused now? Now that you've seen me, the once smartest witch in our class, reduced to such standards? Go on, have your laugh. I can't believe you have the audacity to even come in here, and laugh at me in my face. My, you've changed, Ferret Boy. The last I remembered, you were a coward. Now you're a stupid coward. You go ahead and gloat now, Malfoy, but don't for one second believe that you can break me, because you can't!"

            I finally lost it, obviously. Something finally snapped in me, and I had to let loose all of my anger. I needed to yell at someone, and since he was already pissing me off, I figured he deserved it. I felt as if every one of those dim-witted deatheaters had it in for me and me alone. It was as if they were all ganging up on me, and trying to literally break me. What had I ever done to them? Had I ever set out to destroy them? Had I ever previously hated them for no reason? Hell, I didn't even know they existed until my first year at Hogwarts. I almost wanted sit there and cry like a baby, and feel sorry for myself, but my dignity saved me. With those last words, I turned my head away from his gaze. He was still sitting on the floor, but he was shocked. His eyes had gotten wider with every second that I had been yelling, and he sat there, stunned.

            I turned my head so that I could summon the last of my pride, and then I faced him again. He had risen to his feet by now, and leaned up against the door again. There was a timid knock on the door that startled us both. He moved so that whoever it was could open it. I realized then, that everyone probably could hear everything that was being said now.

            "Is everything okay in here?" it was one of the younger teenage boys, who had introduced himself as Micheal.

            "Yes, everything's alright, Micheal. Please, go back to your bunk. We'll be in there in a few minutes. Sorry for disrupting you." He did as I asked, but not without giving me a questioning glance, and taking a sidelong look towards Malfoy before he shut the door. Malfoy turned back around to lean back up against the door, and folded his arms over his chest. We both sat there in silence for another few moments, challenging the other to speak up first. I rose to the occasion.

            "I don't know who the hell you think you are by coming in here. How dare you even believe that you have any right in using their names. Get out of my sight Malfoy, or you will regret ever even imagining coming here." I spoke quietly and with as much venom as I possessed.  Malfoy just stood there and stared at me again. Just as I was about to yell again, he spoke again.

            "You didn't listen to a word I just said, did you?" He asked with the most award-winning, fake sincerity I have ever heard. I returned his constant gaze on me with an incredulous look. 

            "The hell I even care about what you say! I'm just a mudblood, remember? Get the hell out of here now, Malfoy, or did you not understand me the first time?!?" I started to move toward him, so that I could shove him out of the door, but before I could be given the honor, he nodded his head knowingly at me, and quietly left the room. Why didn't I threaten him sooner? If all I had to do was ask, why couldn't have done so twenty minutes ago?

            I was so frustrated and so confused, that I stared at the door that Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, had just closed. I wasn't hallucinating was I? Did that just happen? Did Malfoy actually _do_ what I told him to do? This was way too much for one night. I really couldn't process everything that had just happened at once. Putting my responsibility first, I stuck my head out of my door, and told my new inmates that it was lights-out. They all climbed into their bunks, and I noticed that they all gave me and Malfoy sidelong looks. Yes, Malfoy was still in the cabin. I glared at him one last time before I shut my door. 

            How infuriating!!!! I felt so perplexed by what just happened I didn't know what to do. I walked over and sat back down on my bed, and put my head in my hands. What a headache I was getting from all of this! It had been to long since I felt so angry at one person, and it had been so long since I had last vented all of my anger. The whole situation was just so abnormal I didn't know what to think. My skeptical side kept telling me this was all a trick to get me killed, while my other side was telling me to believe him. Believe what? I hadn't listened to a word he said, on purpose, and now, I have no idea what was said. Did I miss something important?

            I laid down on my mattress, and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and tried clearing my mind. There was nothing worse than not getting a goodnight's sleep in this place, so I figured I may as well leave all this confusion for the morning.

*****************

            I woke up the next morning not feeling any different from the night before. Although I slept, it was, as usual, restless. I was still tired, and still confused. Malfoy's arrival the day before had completely thrown me off balance. I didn't know quite how to react, nor did I know what to do next, concerning Mallfoy. I rolled off of my mattress and stood up, stretching. Another long day ahead, and it was probably going to be eventful, with Ferret boy there. I walked out of my small little room, and began making sure the prisoners were up and moving. Unfortunately, Malfoy was in there, sitting on the edge of his bunk, conversing with another prisoner. I couldn't hear what he was actually saying, but I could tell that whatever was being said was friendly. His tone of voice was completely indifferent, without any harshness. If it weren't for the fact that I knew this was Malfoy, I'd say he was being _nice to a muggleborn!_

            I cleared my throat to alert the others to be quiet. Immediately all of the new inmates turned their heads in my direction, and some moved closer so that they could hear me. I completely ignored Malfoy's as I told everyone to get into the formation that would be theirs until they left the camp, if that miracle would ever come true. They all got into two single-file lines, and as I opened up the door, I led them outside the cabin. We marched in silence up to the all-too familiar mess hall, and once again, silently entered. I watched as all the new prisoners experienced their first breakfast at Carceris Crudelis. 

            Unconsciously, I had followed Malfoy with my eyes, watching where he was going and what he was doing. He chose to sit at a table filled with other teens our age, most of them were male. I caught myself watching, and turned to look for my own friends. I spotted them at our usual table, talking lowly together, sharing worried glances every now and then. I got my plate full of inedible food and made my way through the maze of tables and chairs. Liam was talking to the others, and looked up at me as I came nearer.

            "Hey, Aguila. How were your new inmates?" he asked me. 

            "They were alright," I answered, making sure not to mention anything about Malfoy. I had once told them stories of how awful he was to my friends and me at Hogwarts. If they knew he was here, I'm not sure how they'd react. I ate my breakfast quickly, barely listening to the other four at my table complain about how the new shipment of prisoners was going to completely ruin our escape plan. They didn't know how right they were! Well, anyway, after I was done eating the lovely pile of gunk on my plate, I looked around again for my cabin members, paying special attention to the toe-headed ferret boy, who seemed to be in a deep discussion with the others at his table.

            A few moments later it was time to go out to the fields. I stood up, and gathered all of the people in my unit into their lines. When it was our turn, we marched out of the mess hall, out onto the avenue of gravel. The inmates quickly became silent, as they looked around at their surroundings. I marched the unit to the field that I had worked in for the past two years. I hated that field. It was always grey and dismal, and didn't produce much more than weeds. But it was where I went every day, where I spent hours picking and pulling at nothing. It was rare that the field actually yielded any type of crop at all, because it had been worked so much.

            I watched for Malfoy's reaction when we finally got to our end of the field. I had explained to the unit exactly what they were going to be doing every day. Malfoy wasn't fazed. He just stood there, as if he expected there to be harder work or something. That git!! What really topped the cake, though, was that when I told them to get started, Malfoy picked up his own basket and actually started _working! He worked a few rows away from me, and for the first hour or so, I kept my eye on him, to see if he'd wimp out. But he didn't._

************

            All day we worked. The heat was starting to become really unbearable, and I lost count of how many times I wiped the sweat from my forehead. I noticed that the ferret had kept working the whole day, not stopping once. The overseers only had to curse one or two others from my unit, so the day was pretty uneventful. When it was time to go back to the mess hall, I called everyone back to the lines. The sun was just disappearing under the horizon, casting an orange shadow over the fields. I tried to smile at each person in my unit to cheer up all of the weary, long faces. They were all so tired, and I felt the same way.

            We entered the mess hall, and instead of it being the usual noise-filled cafeteria, very few people were talking. Everyone was so exhausted that it was all they could do to eat their food. I sat at my usual table, eating in silence also. I looked over again at Malfoy, who didn't look any different from the people around him. His whole body seemed to sag, as leaned over his dinner. I almost felt sorry for him.

            We had forty-five minutes after dinner to "socialize". So I started talking to Ceara and the others. We decided that we were going to still try out our plan, no matter what. I agreed though I still wasn't sure what to do about Malfoy. Speaking of the devil, he walked over to my table after a few minutes. I saw him coming, and rolled my eyes, wondering what he was going to start.

            "Aguila… " He started. I braced myself, and turned towards him.

            "Yes, Bran," I answered, remembering the name he'd told the unit.

            "Can I speak with for a few minutes?" He asked the question almost timidly; as though he was afraid I'd answer yes. So, just to spite him, I did. Nodding at my friends, I silently told them we'd talk later. I got up from the table and led Malfoy out of the mess hall. We were allowed to back and forth between our cabins during our free time, so I figured if Malfoy wanted to start something, it shouldn't be in front of everyone. I led him back to the cabin, almost kicking myself for doing it. I was putting myself in possible danger by being alone at the cabin with Malfoy. Who knows what he could do to me. I didn't think I could handle a reoccurrence of what happened all those months ago by the mess hall kitchens. I shuddered, trying to erase the unspeakable memories of that night from my memory.

            I quickly slipped into the cabin, and Malfoy was right behind me. We both had been silent the whole time we had walked, and we were both still silent. I walked into the main room, and made sure no one was in the cabin with us. Then I turned to face Ferret Boy. But I almost lost control of my lower jaw again as I looked at him. His face had changed. Not drastically, just back to what I remembered his face to be back at Hogwarts. He must have had some kind of disguising spell that made him look unrecognizable. He looked more like the Malfoy I used to know, except the eyes. They were the only thing about him that seemed to have changed.

            "Well then, did you want to speak with me or not?" That flustered him a bit, and he seemed to have been startled by my presence. He had been staring at me again, so I had spoken up to break the silence.

            "Yes, I… Since you obviously didn't listen to me at all last night, I thought I might try again." He looked at me with hope in his eyes, and I just stood there, lost, because he was showing emotions I never thought he was capable of. I nodded, figuring I may as well listen to him. Everyone deserved a fair chance, even if their father was Lucius Malfoy. He took my nod as a signal to begin talking. I sat down on the nearest bunk, and he sat on one directly across from me. He basically repeated the same actions as he had done the night before. Only this time, he looked me straight in the eyes.

************

            As I listened to him tell me about his mother's death, and her diary, and what was in it, I began to wonder if it was the truth. The way he had to fight back tears as he spoke about Narcissa, it was all so unbelievable. That Draco Malfoy wasn't Lucius' son. That all these years, Malfoy had suffered so much. That Malfoy actually had a heart. The most unbelievable part of it all was that he had actually gone to Dumbledore, and began to work for him and with Harry and Ron. How was it all possible? I wanted to believe him so badly. I wanted to believe that what he'd said about Dumbledore sending him here to rescue us was true. But I couldn't fall for it. I couldn't risk the lives of every innocent witch and wizard here.

            After he was finished, he kept looking at me, expecting a reaction. So I reacted.

            "That was quite a story, Malfoy. But did you really expect me to believe you?" I asked him silently. I didn't talk to him with any hatred or sarcasm; I just wanted to know the truth. I was sick of playing this stupid game.

            "I can't prove it any other way except to tell you that I am speaking the truth. Listen, I know that I treated you so horribly at Hogwarts, and I can't even imagine the pain you've been through, but I'm trying to at least make up for some of it." He was so sincere; I wanted to believe him so badly. I stood up.

            "Malfoy, you can't expect to just walk in here, explain away the past, apologize and then think everything's okay. How do I know that you aren't trying to trick me, just so you and your fellow deatheaters can catch me and… and… torture me again? How can you prove it?" Wrong move on my part. He almost exploded. I noticed that he had balled up his fists, and gritted his teeth. And how much more stupid could I get? I tested him even further.

            "You stupid deatheaters think that just because we're muggleborn, we can't think for ourselves. You know we-" 

            He interrupted me. He leapt up off of the bunk and almost lunged at me. He had pulled up the sleeve of his robe on his right arm, and shoved his arm in my face. He was so close that I stumbled backwards. He was scaring me. His face was flushed with anger and he yelled at me.

            "You don't get it, do you?!? The day Mum… I _died_ that day! She never hurt anyone, and look what _he did to her!!! The day she died, any and all of my loyalty to that bastard _died_ with her!!! Look, look at my arm!!" He shoved it closer to my face._

            "Do you see anything? No, you don't, do you. BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING THERE!!!!!!!!! If I were a bloody deatheater, as you think, there would be a lovely little darkmark right there!!!!" He pointed to the underside of his upper arm, and I noticed that he was right. There wasn't anything there. Then, that could only mean… No, it couldn't all be true, could it?

****************

(Chapters 1-6 start singing along with Celine Dion's song, "At last, our love has come along, and our lonely days are over…)

            Hey, I'm sorry about the delay folks, but this past week was filled with all of the lovely stresses of finals. Yes, I am a SENIOR!!!! Wooohoooo!! Well, I wanted to say thank you to all my readers and reviewers, and remind you all again that no matter what happens in the fifth book; this story will continue to be posted, because I have spent far too long working out all the lovely little detail for this plot, and I will not give up!!  Resistance is futile!!!!!!!

Thanks to:

BellethePhilosopher'scookie, Serpena, me, life's mysteries, Silver Bunnie, dmbabe, Jade Shintz, and…

Stacey~ patience is a virtue that you obviously didn't inherit!!! j/k thanx for waiting!!

Quicksilvermad~ Hey, I don't have a beta reader, so excuse me if I have something wrong, so there:P

Stormy~ yay, you read my story!!! I feel so honored!!!


	8. Chapter 8

An~ Well folks, it looks like I will be able to continue this story after all. As you should know, I will be changing the times and dates of what happened to fit the fifth book, so Hermione will have only been at the camp for about a year. I would like to take a moment to give silent thanks to the beautiful Ms. Rowling for not completely ruining my plot yet. THANK YOU!!!!!!! Of course, then I would have to yell at her right away for killing off one of my favorite characters. *sniffle*

I also apologize profusely for the wait I put you guys through. I am so sorry; I just had this case of writer's block, and could not think for the life of me how to finish the chapter. *ducks flying piles of fruit and veggies, including an oversized watermelon chucked by Stacey*

Chapter 8

***********

_"You don't know me, and I'll never be what you want me to be…"_

            I don't know what happened. I guess I just lost control. Her accusations and excuses just had this way of lighting my last fuse. I had to prove to her somehow that I was telling the truth and it seemed the only way possible for her to understand. I had jumped up and came at her. I shoved my arm in her face and began screaming. She needed to understand, to believe, and I was getting frustrated. 

            Her eyes opened wider, in astonishment, as she realized that there was no dark mark. And she couldn't accuse me any longer because everyone knew that the dark mark could not be hidden in any way, so I had to be telling the truth. As I had continued to hold it in front of her, she leaned back into the wall behind her. That's when I realized how much I had been scaring her. I backed off, and turned my head. I guess I was a little apprehensive of what her reaction would be, so I turned my head, avoiding whatever look she might have prepared for me.

            She moved away from the wall, and sat back down on the bunk. I heard a few of the other inmates entering the cabin. The sounds of their chatter were muffled by the closed door, and I realized that we had only few minutes before the lights would be turned off. I looked back at Granger, who had suddenly obtained this fascination with something on the ground. Or was she thinking? I decided to break the silence that had followed my own outburst.

            "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. But I need you to believe me. We're running out of time and Dumbledore needs both of us." She looked up at that last part.

            "You've said that several times now. Why would Dumbledore need me?" Goodness, if I were her, I'd be asking why no one had come for me until now.

            "I'm not quite sure; he needs several of us, though. But I only just recently found out where you were. We've been looking for you for a long time. And now that we've found you here, Dumbledore is planning on getting everyone out of here." I was hoping she would get past my outburst and start cooperating with me. Her expression softened, and I think she began to accept the idea of me being on her side. She was still contemplating everything though. The problem of trusting me was a serious issue, because she knew it would affect everyone else here. I respected her for that. I respected her for considering the others before her. Suddenly, she looked back up at me.

            "Alright, Malfoy. I will trust you. But if I find out that you are leading us into a trap, and any one of us gets killed, including me, I will make it a point to haunt you even in hell."

            Well, then. I'm glad I wasn't leading them into a trap. She was dead serious though. She was looking at me with this intensity that burned through to the back of my head. I looked back at her, and nodded, accepting the terms of her agreement. We still had a few minutes left before lights out, and I wanted to speak to another cabinmate before then, so I got up to leave. As I headed towards the door, Granger stopped me.

            "Truce then?" she asked.

            "What?"

            "Truce. You know, where you and I agree not to rip each other's throats out or anything, and work together peacefully," came the sarcastic reply. I knew what she meant, but I wanted one more thing before that could happen.

            "I have one more favor to ask though," I started. She shot me a calculating look.

            "Depends…"

            "I just wanted to know if you will accept my apology for how I used to treat you." I stated simply. That definitely caught her off guard. She brought her hand back down, in thought of my recent request. I know that we needed to move on to other pressing matters, but I needed to know if she would forgive me of all the times I had made fun of her, and made her life miserable. I looked at her again, hoping that she would at least relieve me of that burden. I guess it worked, because then she started to speak up. She hesitated at first, a little unsure of herself, but then went on.

            "Yes, I'll accept it. You seem to have really changed, though you really are starting to scare me," was her reply. I started at the last part. How had I scared her?

            "What do you mean?" I was really confused now. Then I saw the hint of a smile on her face, and realized that she wasn't being serious.

            "Well, the fact that the Malfoy I used to know wouldn't be caught dead apologizing to a mudblood, much less speaking civilly to one, kind of unnerves me. It's going to take me a while to get used to this," she admitted, laughing quietly to herself. I also noticed how casually she referred to herself with the old nickname I used to call her. It used to make her cry to be called that, but now, it seemed as though it was second nature to her. All at the same time though, I felt this big wave of relief wash over me, as I realized that she actually forgave me. I returned her smile.

            "Think of what it was like for me. I mean, the concept of actually being nice to people, well, it sure was enlightening," she started to laugh again at my attempt of humor, and the tension from before was slowly starting to lift. Somehow, I knew that we were going to get along fine after this. She had basically the same reactions as Harry and Ron. At first, they had trouble believing me, but soon, they got used to the idea that I had changed.

            But what had mattered the most was that they accepted my apology and forgave me. Now, Granger had done the same, and I felt as though I had finally set everything straight. The three Gryffindors were the ones who I tortured the most, and now that I had finally apologized to the last of them, I felt that I could now move on. I could take care of the other apologies later, now that I had gotten the major ones over with.

            We both looked away from eachother, not really knowing what to say next. There was an awkward silence as we both looked around the room, trying to avoid having to talk to the other. I was waiting for her to speak, to say something, anything to relieve the dead silence that had filled the room, when I go fed up with it.

            "So then, I guess we better start planning how to get out of this place," I spoke up. She turned to look at me, and had this odd look on her face, as though she was dying to tell me something.

            "Actually…"

**********

            Well, before the lights went out, Granger, or Aguila, as I had to call her for now, explained to me the plan that she and some of the other prisoners had come up with. I had to admit, it was pretty good. They had thought of everything, down to who was going to be doing what, and where. The only flaw in their plan was what they were going to do once they all escaped. Apparently, they thought they'd be able to make a run for it, and survive. What she didn't know, was that Carceris Crudelis was at least fifty miles from any form of civilization. So, as the lights overhead went out, Aguila and I sat in the dark as we tried to come up with a way of getting everyone out. Then, the light bulb started flashing in my head.

            "Portkeys!!!" I whispered a little loudly.

            "Shhh, keep it down or the guards will come. And what do you mean portkeys?"

            "I can talk to Dumbledore and get him to set up portkeys all over this camp, so that we can transport everyone there at one time-"

            "That would be great, except that you are here, and Professor Dumbledore is at Hogwarts. And even if, by some miracle, you were able to speak to him, how would you be able to make the portkeys?" She did have a good point, though it was an uneducated one.

            "First of all, I can apparate to Dumbledore's office, speak to him, and bring back the portkeys with me. The only things you need to make a portkeys are the objects themselves, and a simple charm. If I remember correctly, Dumbledore is quite good at charms. I thought you would know this, seeing as how you used to be a bookworm." I added the last part just to keep her on her toes. Her eyes went wide in frustration, but then she screwed up her face in disagreement.

            "Wait, you aren't old enough to apparate! And I'll have you know that even though I may have been a bookworm, it doesn't mean I know everything."

            "You are forgetting that I grew up in the Malfoy household. I've been apparating since I was twelve. And imagine what everyone will say when I tell them that you actually admitted you, Hermione Granger, don't know everything. The catastrophe it would cause!" I put on my best look of shock, horror and amazement. I think I'm going to love teasing her like this. Once again she shot me a look of exasperation.

            "Well, then, how are you going to apparate without alerting the guards? The minute you disappear, they'll know, and everything will be ruined." What happened to the smart Granger I remembered. Maybe she just wasn't thinking clearly tonight.

            "That is why I would take off the bracelet thing, before I apparate, and leave it here. They won't even know I'm gone." I stated simply.

            "Once again, that's a bright idea, except you have to figure out how to get the thing off first." Man, she really wasn't thinking, was she?

            "Once again, you forget that I am a Malfoy, and I did happen to sneak in here. When they "caught" me, they took a wand, but they didn't know that it wasn't really mine. There are ways of concealing things like wands with simple charms." I watched as she tried to calculate what I said in her mind. 

            "So you have your wand with you?" I pulled my left shoe off, and took out one of the strings that held it together. They had let us keep our shoes in the building where thy brought everyone through for "registration", lucky for me. I held up they shoestring in front of her, and muttered the charm that the Professor had taught me. The string immediately transformed itself back into its true shape, my trusty wand. Aguila's eyes went wide in disbelief. I don't think she had seen a wand in a long time.

            "You've had that with you this entire time? Do you have any idea what things you can do with that here?" Her eyes were now well on their way to popping out of their sockets. In a way, the whole situation was quite humorous. She looked really funny with her eyes like that. It started to get scary, though, as she started looking at my wand as though she was going to attack it.

            "Well, actually, yes, I can do many things with a wand. As a matter of fact, the possibilities are practically limitless!" The sarcasm and mockery was quite evident in my reply, and once again, she got angry.

            "Oh shut up, you know what I mean. Do you have any idea how long we have all been hoping to come across some misplaced wand or something like that? We have combed the entire grounds that we have access to, searching for anything with magical abilities in it. You are quite lucky that you haven't shown that to anyone else here, because you might not have survived the attacks." She was still looking at the wand as though it was the One Ring. (Thought you fellow LotR fans would like that;})  You'd think she had never seen one before.

            "Well then, I guess I'm lucky. Now, if you will get over your fascination with a piece of wood, we just might be able to plan out just what we're going to do. Seeing as how it's already quite late, and sleep isn't something that is easily missed here, I say we plan on taking care of this tomorrow. Perhaps, in the morning, you and I can talk with your friends, and run the portkey idea by them, and see what happens from there. Does that sound alright to you, Smeagol?" (couldn't resist)

            She had been caught off guard, because she had been staring at the wand again, and I put it back in my shoe, as I asked her the question. She snapped out of her trance, and looked back at me.

            "What did you just call me?"

            "Never mind. Well, does that plan sound good or what?"

            "Yes, that's fine; we can talk to the others at breakfast." I got up and headed towards the door. "Well, goodnight then." She also got up as I opened the door.

            "Goodnight then, Mal- Bran." 

            I walked out, smiling at her slip up. It was going to take the both of us a while to get used to calling each other by names, instead of insults. I headed towards my bunk in the dark room. The others were fast asleep, tired from their long day in the sun. I had no idea how I was going to survive tomorrow with the enormous lack of sleep I would have.

*********

A/n~ Not my best, I know. I wanted to go on but, I figured I've tortured you all long enough with the wait, and I am suffering from lack of new emails alerting me of reviews, so I shall stop here for now. What to look for in chapter nine…Hermione's thoughts and reactions to the newly made truce. Yaaaaayyyyyy!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

A/n~ well then, time I get over this blasted writer's block. I fully intended to whip up several more chapters than this during the summer, but I guess I got distracted. Sorry for the long wait. Oh, to answer a few comments/questions, yes, the whole "carceris crudelis" thing is based from the concentration camps in world war two. I got the idea for most of my story around the same time that I was reading Night, by Elie Weisel. Savvy?

MAJOR WARNING: this chapter is a rated R for specific reasons, so if you are really too young to be reading this, I warn you now, that this chapter has some graphic content, and is not suitable to those under fourteen years of age.

Chapter Nine

**************

_"I want to go back to believing in everything and knowing nothing at all…"_

            Later that night, I woke up, gasping for breath. I brushed the beads of sweat from my forehead, as I tried to push away the memories of the nightmares. My small room was pitch dark, and there was no light coming through the little round hole that let me see outside. I figured then, that it wasn't yet time to get up; I had woken up early. I involuntarily shuddered because I knew that no matter how much I tried, I would never be able to escape the nightmares. I tried to recall the events from earlier with Malf-Bran, while attempting to shove the dreams away from my eyes.

            Everything seemed so different, so odd. At first, I couldn't believe it, but he had changed. It took me a while to realize that he was really telling me the truth. It must have clicked when he had shown me his arm, the arm where the dark mark was supposed to have been. He scared me at first; I thought he was about to attack me, but then I realized he was only shoving his arm in my face. A little rude of him, maybe, although it was affective, because I was forced to see that there was no dark mark, anywhere on him. My cynical nature started to kick in, and I began to question whether or not he might have charmed it so that the darkmark was invisible or something, but then I remembered, from my studies, that it was impossible to do anything to a dark mark once it is embedded in flesh. Therefore, there was no way he was a deatheater. 

            With some hesitancy, I had accepted his apology, and made a truce with him. I remember how awkward it felt, at first, to be conversing with Malfoy, _Draco Malfoy, and not be furious at him. He, in turn, seemed to have lost his former vocabulary. There were no insults, not hateful taunting; only civility, and possible even friendliness somewhere in there, which bordered on the ragged edge of scary._

            We talked for a long time afterward, and I had explained to him our plan of escape, which was set to be executed within two weeks. He seemed surprised that we had come up with such a detailed plan, but I guess he just didn't understand how desperate we were to get out of there. He was able to answer our only problem in the plan, which was how and where we were going to actually go after we escaped. When Bran pulled out his wand, I nearly had a heart attack. Everyone in the camp had given up hope long ago of even touching a wand. I must say, Bran must have been pretty amused at the look on my face as I tried to control myself.

            We finally had the perfect plan, and with Malf-Bran's help, we just might get out of here. I relaxed back on to my lumpy mattress, realizing that I should try to get a little more sleep before dawn broke. Slowly, I let my mind wander to various thoughts, and I felt my eyelids droop ever lower. Sleep soon encumbered me, and all thought ceased. The next thing I knew, I was caught, once again, in that place, the darkest reaches of my mind, the place just before waking, where my most terrifying nightmares never failed to haunt me. My memories took over me, and I had no control of myself, as I began to remember, quite vividly, every moment of that night, so long ago.

**_Flashback:_**

****__

_            It was a clear, crisp night, about three months after I first arrived here at Carceris Crudelis. The sharp wind was biting at my face as I made my way to the kitchens with three others from my bunk. It was our turn to clean up after the dinner mess tonight, and I sighed as I stepped through the doorway, glancing at all of the stacks of dishes and pots and pans all around the room. The guard who was watching us tonight was a fairly heavyset scumbag, who began his usual shouting and demanding the moment we came in._

_            We set to work right away, scrubbing all of the dishes first. Although it was cold outside, we began to sweat from our labors. One might think dishwashing is easy, and maybe under normal circumstances, it is. But we were to finish the clean up by a certain time, or we would be punished with one of the Unforgivables. To add to our misery, our guard hurled his insults at us, and yelled in our faces if we didn't move quickly enough. By this night, I was already used to this kind of treatment, and I had stopped caring about what I was called. I learned to block it all out, so that I could finish my work without being punished. So I ignored the threats and names that were spat in my face several times._

_            Our "guard" had brought with him a bottle, which was, no doubt, filled with some sort of liquor. Liquor and overweight deatheater in one combination was never a good thing. We spent several hours scrubbing and rescrubbing, all the while, the guard had been sipping from his liquor. We were able to tell how the liquid slowly deteriorated his mind, and he became sluggish in his movements. His insults became nothing but unintelligible slurs and he could barely walk in a straight line. I would have been amused, if not for the fact that he was still capable in punishing me and the others._

_            Everything started to go downhill when the guard decided to become the despicable creature that he was. Instead of insults, we could make out crude comments directed towards us, as we were all female, and he began to brush against us  a little more than necessary when he passed us. It got out of hand when he tried to feel up one of the other girls, Annie, I think her name was. I can take physical abuse and verbal abuse, but to demean a woman like that infuriated me beyond control. I stopped what I was doing and shoved him away, so that he would leave her alone. And he did, except that he came after me. I had already turned around to finish my work when he yelled._

_            "Why, you filthy little mudblood wench!!!!  How dare you!!!" He pulled my hair from behind me and yanked hard. I was forced to face him. Once I found the perfect angle, I spat in his face, directly on target, in his eye. Unfortunately, that only enraged him more. He slapped me hard across my face, and sent me sprawling to the floor. As I was on the ground, he yelled at the others._

_            "You three! Go back to your cabin now! If you step one toe out of line, you won't live to see tomorrow!" They stared at me blankly for a moment, offering me their pity, and scurried out of the room. And then he turned to me._

_            "You better hope the boss isn't here tonight, or you will be dead by morning. Finish those pots NOW!" I got to my feet as quickly as I could, and returned to the sink. There was at least one more hour's worth of pots to scrub, and now I had to do it alone. I barely had a chance to pick up my scrubber, before he punched me in the side of my face. I staggered a bit, but I wouldn't let myself fall again, no matter what. He yelled a bit more, and before he hit me again, he stopped. His face lit up with some brilliant idea, and he smiled, with a hint of malice lurking in his eyes. He told me to finish my work, and to get back to my cabin when I was done. He threatened with the Cruciatrus curse if I did not hurry. And then, he was gone. Just like that, I was left in silence._

_            I knew he had some form of punishment waiting for me. Perhaps he would make me suffer through some hex in the morning or some curse that would leave me in pain. I didn't care anymore. I didn't think there was any way of getting out soon, so I resumed my work. For the next hour or so, I scrubbed the last of the pots, and stacked them neatly in their places. I took a moment to splash some cold water on my face, in hopes of at least making myself feel a little cleaner. I realized then, that I would have to walk all the way back to the cabin alone, in the dark. It wasn't that big of a deal, I knew how to get to it, but something inside of me was flashing a warning through my mind. I ignored it, of course, and proceeded to leave the kitchens._

_            I stepped out into the night, and was struck by the blast of cold air. The robes that each of us prisoners had were not any where close to being protective against the frosty winds and bitter winter cold that had set in at the camp. There was a lantern that lighted a small area of ground around the door to the kitchens. I only walked a few feet before I was completely enveloped in darkness. I remembered there being a building near the door to the kitchens, not far away from where I was, and once I rounded that, I would have to walk down the long avenue to my cabin._

_            Then, without warning, I was seized from behind. I could not see what was going on, or who had grabbed me. But I felt the hands that had wrapped around my mouth, and let go just after someone, a man, whispered the silencing spell. I could not scream, or make any sound for that matter, as my attacker threw me on the ground. I kicked and struggled, trying to get free, but then, the same voice as before muttered another curse. I immediately lost all control of my body. I could not make my legs or my arms move, I could not struggle at all. I screamed and screamed, but no sound came out, no one could hear me. _

_            A moment later, I realized that there more of them. Their outlines became visible as my eyes adjusted to the dark. I could make out six of them, and I heard their low whispers and occasional bouts of laughter. My first attacker now had complete control over me, and soon began to destroy me. I cannot even begin to describe how much pain I was put through, nor do I want you to ever know how I died many times over in those next minutes of my life. I was taken advantage of; my dignity was stripped from me completely, as each one of the guards took turns ruining me. Each one of them also beat me, breaking me in more ways than one. I cried and wept and fought with every ounce of strength I had in me. I pleaded silently for them to stop, but they wouldn't. I soon started begging them to just kill me now, and stop the pain._

_            But I was denied that request. They didn't care what I felt, they didn't care that they had just ruined whatever future I might have had. I was no good anymore. Useless, dirty, mudblood was all I could be now. Soon, but not soon enough, they tired of me, and left me in the cold night, and freed me of the curses that had kept me still. They had disappeared silently into the night, no doubt mocking me as they left. They had their fun, but I was left to weep alone in the dark. I must have laid there for hours, crying to myself, mourning the loss of my innocence. I wept for my now hopeless future._

_            I wish that I could tell you that I was strong. I wish that I could say that I moved on without hindrance, but I can't. I struggled back to the cabin, and silently crawled onto my mattress. I wept silently, not wanting to draw attention to myself. The next morning, I had already withdrawn into myself, refusing to look at or speak to anyone. I felt like a caged animal, and every time a boy or man came near me, I fought to keep myself from screaming. Sean had asked me if I was alright, as did my other new friends there, but I avoided them at all costs. I was ashamed that I had been taken advantage of, and I couldn't let anyone know how weak I had become._

_            I went through a long period of self-hate. I hated myself for everything I did. I hated myself for being so vulnerable that I couldn't protect myself. I hated myself for every sneer and side glance that the guards had thrown my direction after that night. I began to give up hope, and I lost all sense of the world around me. I truly didn't care anymore whether I lived or died. I almost didn't want to escape, because I knew I could never face Harry and Ron after this. I could never trust them again, after what happened. I could never let myself be near their kind again. I could not let this pain reoccur, because it was more than I could bear.  _

_            It wasn't but about a month later that I noticed a few other girls whose faces reflected the same pain I bore. I realized that I wasn't the only one who was suffering like this. I also realized that I had been selfish, and I realized that I had to put my own pain last. I began to try to forget what happened; I began to push the memories as far back in mind as I could. It was then that I became stronger, and the people began to consider me their leader. I snapped out of my self-pity, and began to try to help others. I realized that if for nothing else, I had to live, because I might help the others escape. But no matter what, the memories still came to me, and I still suffered through the nightmares. I could not escape them, even now, so many months later. _

**_End Flashback_**

            I woke suddenly again, and realized I had been crying out in my sleep. The nightmares, when they came, took control, and I could do nothing to escape them. A split second later, I realized I was not alone. Someone had opened the door and silently slipped in. For a moment, I feared that it was another nightmare, and I curled myself into the tightest ball that I could, and an involuntary whimper escaped my throat. _Not again_, I thought. It was a moment later that I realized I was really awake, because the person spoke.

            "Hermione…?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N~ don't hate me please!!!!!!!! I know it's cruel, but trust me, for the sake of the plot, it had to happen. Don't say I didn't warn you!!! (instead of ducking rotten veggies, she takes them full in the face in defense of her own plot) Feel free to flame me, if you think it necessary to do so, but know, that I will still stand by this decision, because I know how much better things are going to get. Trust me. Now I wonder, who could this person be…?


	10. Chapter 10

A/N~ Well, folks, I'm afraid that with school starting back up, my updates won't be as often as I'd like. Thank you all for the reviews, they haven't gone unappreciated. There is some good news though, I'm taking creative writing this year, so I can write out my chapters for this _for a grade!!!!!!! Woohoo. So read and enjoy, I promise no more torture of that kind for Hermione. I didn't want to do that to her, but for the sake of the plot, I had to.  I also think that writing some areas of this story are going to come a lot easier to me now, considering the quote that "one writes from one thing only, one's own experience." Life's getting pretty rough right now, so I really can't guarantee updates. Read and review, please._

Chapter Ten

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"_And what do you think you'd understand?"_

            I had left Gran- Aguila's little room, and walked back to my mattress. All of the others were asleep, and I slipped under my thin blanket, surrounded by complete darkness. I was still trying to grasp what had just happened. Aguila and I were actually on civil terms. I couldn't believe it, and yet I wanted to, with all of my being. I realized that both she and I had changed so much in just the space of one year. She had become desperate, seeming to survive only just to say that she had. She was still the smart witch she had been in school, and she still had her wits about her, but she had lost all hope for a good life. Even though she was ecstatic about escaping, her eyes gave away other emotions that she was experiencing. They showed fear and bitterness; anger and desperation. She had grown up a lot here at Carceris Crudelis, almost too much.

            I, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. My entire way of life had changed. I wanted to change, and I didn't want to be alone anymore. I wanted to live, and have friends, have people who would care about what happened to me. I wanted to make up for all of the pain and misery I had caused. You would think that I, a Malfoy, was crazy for even thinking something along those lines, but it was the truth. People would think that I was a whole other person, and I was. I really had changed; the problem was convincing everyone else.

            Soon, I fell into a restless sleep. I can't remember much of the dreams I had, but I remember that they were disturbing. I must have turned over so many times on my mattress; I was surprised that the noise didn't wake any of the others up. By the early morning, I had given up on decent sleep, so I resorted to staring up at the bunk above me. The relentless dripping of one of the faucets grated into my mind, interrupting my thoughts, and giving me a headache. The pain grew in my head, to the point where it was almost unbearable. Interesting how one simple sound can cause so much stress and pain. Finally, I sat up, unable to stand the silence in my room. 

It was at that moment that I heard something. It sounded almost like an echo, a faint whisper that only I could hear. I sat still, my ears alert for the slightest sound. I didn't have to wait long; the sound was louder the second time, but not so loud that others could hear it. It sounded like a cry, a whimper of pain; like some injured being that was trying to be silent. I turned and placed my feet on the cold, bare floor, and waited for another sound. It came, and I followed it toward the other end of the bunker. As I got closer to the end, I realized I was heading back toward Aguila's room. And as I got closer to her door, the light dawned on me that the sound was coming from her room.

I made my way silently to her door in the pitch black. Standing before the door, I hesitated, thinking of what she might say if I walked in there and she turned out to be okay, if the sound was just my imagination. But then I heard the cry again, and I made out one word, "No." I waited no longer, and pushed open the door slowly. As I entered the small, dark room, I let my eyes adjust to the lighting, which was a little darker than it was in the main room. My eyes adjusted, and I looked over toward Aguila's bed. Lying on it was a crumpled form, huddled in the corner. Of course it was Aguila, but she was shaking, almost rocking back and forth. Every once in a while, as I stood there, she would let out another small whimper.

My mind was racing, and I couldn't think straight. Why was she acting like this? What caused her this much pain that she had to hide it away, only to let it out in nightmares when everyone was asleep. I knew that there had been something wrong earlier, but the way she was shaking proved that something far worse than I imagined had happened. But what? What could possibly cause her to shake like that? Why did she keep repeating the word "no' over and over? She was lost in her nightmares, and it seemed to me that she couldn't escape. What was I supposed to do? I had heard somewhere before that it could be dangerous to wake someone from a violent dream; it could damage their mind or something like that. But I couldn't just leave her there, shaking so violently like she was. 

I moved closer to the edge of her bed, and then I realized that she had stopped her shaking. Instead, it seemed that she was waking up from her nightmares. She stirred from her huddled position, and rolled over, facing me and the door. I could barely make out her eyes that were just slightly opening.

It was then that I had to ruin the silence, and I spoke the first word that came to mind.

            "Hermione…?"

            Immediately, I saw her eyes widen in recognition, and she pushed herself back toward the wall in the corner, as she had done earlier. I don't think that she recognized me, but more so, her name. My hand reached out toward her, almost involuntarily, as I was still new to the friendship/comforting idea. At the movement of my hand, she cringed, and shook again, burying her face in her arms. She cried out again. She was behaving so strangely, and I couldn't figure out was wrong. So I called her again, this time by her new name.

            "Aguila…?"

            At this, her head shot up, and instantly, I think she realized where she was, and who I was. She glared at me, as though I had caused her the nightmare, and she hissed at me.

            "Get out."

            "Aguila, what's wrong? What happened?" I asked, worried about her condition. She continued to glare at me, and then at the door, ordering me to leave. I didn't get it. She had obviously been in pain, and needed some sort of help, and when I finally start being concerned, she locks me out. So, I gave up. I looked at her for a moment more, a little angry with her, but more so worried. If she wanted to be left alone, then, fine, I'd leave her alone. I left the small, pathetic room, and headed back to my bunk.

            Whatever hope I had in sleeping was now completely gone, all thanks to this new turn of events. I tossed and turned until it was time to wake up, because I was so angry. I wanted to know what was going on. I wanted to know what happened to Aguila, and I was angry that she wasn't telling me. There I was trying to help her, and I was truly concerned, mind you, and she goes and treats me like I did something wrong. I just couldn't understand. We had made a truce. I thought that meant that we were on good terms now. I thought that meant we were supposed to help eachother, look after eachother. I guess not.

            Finally, morning came. The morning bell rang, and my fellow inmates, slowly stirred from their individual bunks. I also yawned, and stretched out my arms, preparing myself for another long day to come. I knew that within the hour, I would be feeling the full effects of a sleepless night, and I really wasn't looking forward to another day in the fields. I rolled off my mattress, and got into our line formation. Granger exited her room a few moments later, and passed me without so much as a glance, and took her place at the front of our line. Once we were all assembled, she opened the door, and held it as we each left the cabin. As I passed her, I tried making eye-contact with her. Big mistake, for all I got was a glare, quite similar to that which I received last night. We headed silently out towards the mess hall for our breakfast, as the sun slowly rose over the horizon.

********

            Throughout the entire day, Aguila avoided me as much as she could. Every time she had to pass me, she continued on, looking the opposite direction. I was starting to get very frustrated with her. I know I probably deserved her mistrust, what with the cruelty I had treated her with for the past five years, but I _had changed. I wasn't perfect, but I __was trying to get better with the whole being-nice-to-people bit. Come on, I should at least get some credit for trying. We had less than two weeks to prepare for the escape, but how were we going to be able to prepare at all if Aguila wouldn't even talk to me? _

            Finally, the sun had set, and it was time for us to return to the mess hall for our tasteless dinner. Granger still avoided me every step of the way to the mess hall, choosing to walk beside the front person in line. This whole ordeal was starting to get old with me. We needed to tell her friends about the plan, and we needed to get everything in order. Her childishness was aggravating, and yet I couldn't quite blame her because I couldn't understand why she was acting this way. She was avoiding me for some reason, and as I tried racking my brain for anything I might have said to set her off, I couldn't come up with anything. As we reached the doors of the mess hall, she held them open for the rest of us, as usual. I walked slower so that I would be at the back of the line. This way, she had no choice but to be in line next to me.

            She realized what I was doing and glared at me, because she knew there was nothing she could do about it. Soon, the person in front of me entered the building, and I entered behind him. Granger followed behind, letting the door close, and walked up beside me, as we waited in the line for our food.

"Aguila, we need to talk." I turned my head towards her as I said this quietly, and she glared at me again.

"There's nothing to talk about, Bran," she hissed under her breath.

"Oh, but there is. If you don't want to tell me what this is all about, then at least give up on the silent treatment long enough for us to tell the others about the plan. I don't know why you're angry with me, but right now we need to focus on the plan."  She looked back up at me, and bit her lip. I could tell that she was debating over whether or not to agree with me, so I stared back at her, waiting for her to answer. She looked as if she was fighting with herself, and she was frowning. Then she started to speak, almost hesitantly.

"Fine, but… just…please don't ask about last night. I'm sorry for how I treated you, I just…I can't… I can't tell you. It's… just please don't ask." She looked at me pleadingly, her eyes filled with her fear and sadness.

"Agreed. Now let's go find those friends of yours." With that, we got our food and joined Niamh, Ceara, Liam, and Connor at their usual table. The entire dinner time, we spent whispering in our little huddle, explaining and discussing our plan. The other four agreed to the plan, and we began working out the details. Soon, the bell sounded warning us that it was time to head to our bunks. The six of us left the table, promising to finish the details of our plan the next morning. Throughout the conversation, Granger's attitude changed slowly. She had gotten even more excited about the plan, and she had begun to smile at the mere mention of the escape. Well, who wouldn't? But her happiness was one that showed in every part of her expression, and she had stopped frowning. When it was time for us to head back to the bunks, through the dark, the light went out of her eyes again, and her expression returned to the cold, emotionless one she had mastered so well.

We marched back to our cabins, and I looked up at the sky as we walked. The sky was clear tonight, and the stars were so distinct, so clear. For some reason, I had a strange feeling somewhere within me. I couldn't describe it, nor explain it, but just looking up at the stars made me feel whatever it was. My head had started spinning, and I was getting dizzy quickly, but I snapped out of it, shaking my head and looking back around me. I continued marching, the odd feeling that had startled me, went away. 

Still a bit shaken from what had just happened, I entered the cabin behind the rest of my unit, and headed towards my bunk. I was exhausted from lack of sleep, and the day's work. Granger said goodnight to each of us, and with a pointed look directed at me, entered her own room. I fell onto my long awaited mattress, and settled back into the sleep that I had been waiting for. I had already decided that I was just going to push all of my problems out of mind, and sleep. No worrying about the incident with Granger, nothing. Just sleep…

*****

            Apparently the gods have a sense of humor, at my expense. I must have been asleep only an hour, when I was awoken by something. I opened my eyes slowly, and tried to register just had woken me this time. I waited in the silent dark of the room, straining my ears to listen for any sounds. Almost instantly, I heard it, and it was familiar. It was a cry coming from Granger's room. Her nightmares had come back, and she was crying again. Groaning with exhaustion, I rose from my mattress and headed back towards the door to her room. Once again, I pushed it open quietly, wondering if this was going to be a repeat of last night.

            Again, my eyes adjusted to the light of the room, and I closed the door behind me. I saw Granger huddled in the same position as I had found her last night, against the wall. I walked over this time, and sat next to her on the bed. She was shaking violently still, crying out with whispered pleas for help. Just the sight of her acting like this, the obvious pain she was suffering in her nightmare was unbearable. I didn't know what to do again. I was struck dumb with any knowledge of how to help. So I did what I could.

             I reached out and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her from her huddled position, and closer to me. She was still crying, and as soon as I had touched her, she started kicking me, and punching me with all of her strength. She was still asleep, still stuck in her nightmare, and she was trying to fight me off. I wrapped my arms around her flailing arms tighter still, trying to calm her down. I held her there in my arms, rocking her back and forth, hushing her until she stopped fighting. She was so light, almost weightless, and when she had finally stopped resisting, she tensed. Knowing then that she was now awake, I kept my arms around her so that she couldn't escape. She started to whimper again, only this time, she was awake. She started crying out "no" over and over again.

            "Shhh, Hermione, it's just me. It's only me, Draco. I'm not going to hurt you. Calm down, you're alright now, you're safe. Shhh…" I continued holding her because she was still tense with fear.

            "Are they gone?" she whispered. I didn't know who she was talking about, but all I wanted to do was calm her down, and make sure she was alright.

            "Yes they're gone, and they won't come back. I'm here now, they won't come back." I had hoped this would settle her a little bit, and help ease her fear of whoever "they" were.

            "You're wrong, they will always be here. They won't ever leave." At this she began sobbing into my chest. I still had no clue what was going on. I voiced the major question that was ringing through my head.

            "Who are "they"? Who are you talking about? What did they do to you?" She tensed up at the last question. I was getting so frustrated. She wasn't answering me, and I had no idea how to make her feel better. I couldn't understand.

            "I can't… I can't tell you. You would… you would never want… anything to do with me…" She said all of this in between sobs, whispering so that I could barely hear her. I thought long and hard on what she meant as she continued crying, her shoulders shaking with each sob. I thought so hard, trying to come up with answers.

            "Hermione, I must know who did this to you. I can't help you if you won't tell me." I had pulled her back so I could look at her face to face. I was looking intently into her eyes, trying to convince her that she could tell me. Her lower lip trembled, as more tears escaped the corners of her eyes. She closed them tightly and shook her head.

            "I can't… I… the guards… they might come back…they might…" And then it dawned on me. The way some of the guards had looked at her, the way she cringed whenever one came near her. The countless times she had cried out "no" in her nightmares. It all made sense now, why couldn't I have seen it before? How dare they? If what I was thinking was true, there would be hell to pay.

            "Did they… did they…" Why was it so hard for me to ask?  "Hermione, did they take advantage of you?" Finally, it was out. I waited for her to answer, but she didn't. She looked up at me, and the tears started flowing harder. She started shaking again with her sobs, and I pulled her back closer to me. I couldn't believe it. How dare they do that to her? Of all people, she was the least of a threat to them, and they degrade her in the most savage way. She had done nothing to deserve any of it. They were in for it now, whichever ones they were. They were going to regret the day they were ever born male.

            "Please, I know it's hard for you, but tell me, what happened?"

            She did. Amazingly she did. In broken sentences, mixed with short sobs, she finally told me the whole story. I was so angry, so full of rage at what they had done. The pain that they had caused this innocent was downright wrong. I started shaking myself with the anger that was welling up inside me. But then I remembered Agu-Hermione, and I knew that she needed someone to be with her. I figured I'd save their punishments for tomorrow. She had finished talking, and had continued weeping. And I continued rocking her back and forth.

            "Shhh… it's okay. It's going to be okay. They won't hurt you again, I won't let them. I promise." I whispered. This felt so odd to me, comforting someone like this. But I knew that she needed it, and if we were to be friends, I needed to be there for her.

            "Why are you still here?" she asked, after a few minutes of crying.

            "What do you mean?" Now I was confused again. She had a way of doing that to me lately.

            "Why haven't you left me? How can you even voluntarily be near me after… after…"

            So that's what she feared. Of course, she was insecure now. Why wouldn't she be? She was afraid that I would abandon her now that I knew. Well, she was wrong.

            "No one should have to endure their pain alone." I left it at that, and continued holding her.

            "Thank you," she whispered. I held her for what seemed like hours. She had stopped crying, and slowly drifted off to sleep. I sat there thinking of all the pain that she had suffered and she had survived. I realized that for these many months, she had endured her pain, and still put on a brave face for the rest of the camp. She had been so strong in their eyes, and she was. She showed her strength with each day that she faced without giving up. She gained all of my respect that night. If only the guards were there, I would have tortured them to no end for causing her this pain. 

            Her breathing had slowed, so I gently laid her back on her mattress. She stirred slightly, but remained asleep. I covered her with the small blanket, and then leaned in and kissed her forehead. My own actions startled me. If someone had told me two years ago that I would do what I did tonight, I would have laughed in their face. But somehow, it didn't matter to me. All that mattered to me was to keep Hermione, yes; I realized I had been calling her Hermione now, safe. I needed to get her out of here, away from the guards, and soon. That's all that mattered.

**************

A/N~ Finally!!! I feel so much better now that this is all done!!! I fully apologize for the wait, I just haven't had the time to write anything. But not to worry, more updates will come. All questions, comments, critiques are welcome as long as they are in the form of a review;} Oh, good news for those who are interested!!! I have finally decided how I'm going to end the story, when I get that far!!! I was debating so hard as whether or not to end it tragically or happily ever after. So yeah, I've decided, and y'all are going to have to wait till I finish to find out just what I decided;P Happy Thanksgiving!!!!


	11. Chapter 11

A/n~ *Gasp* I saw Return of the King.. My life is now complete. I have nothing more to look forward to. wait, yes I do!!! I have more reviews to look forward to, right guys??? *turns to watch the retreating reviewers run away* jk, anyway, just thought I'd get this chapter out, since it is Christmas break and all. Oh, shameless plug: go read Awakening of a Magus, and A Fathers Sin. They are both amazing stories. Oh yeah, fluff alert! (but not what I'm sure you all want)  
  
Chapter Eleven  
**************  
"I still remember the sun, always warm on my back."  
  
I'm still not quite sure what happened that night. I woke up the next morning, feeling as though something significant had happened during the night. I searched my memory, trying to figure out just what had happened. I remembered my nightmares and crying through them. I remembered that at a certain part of the nightmare, it started to feel too real to be just a nightmare. I remembered dreaming the same part where someone was holding onto me so tight that I couldn't escape. The dream played out to the end as usual, and I began to cry again. But after the dream was over, I remembered starting to realize in my sleep that there really was someone holding me tightly. I tensed up, trying to prepare myself against what was to come. I started to resist the unwanted visitor to my room, struggling and kicking, trying to break free. I couldn't let it happen again. I couldn't go through it again. Not when I was so close to escaping this horrible place.  
  
What happened next shocked me so much that I forgot completely about escaping. I don't know quite what I was thinking; my mind must have been confused from the nightmares. The person holding me was rocking me back and forth and started trying to comfort me. He spoke, and I knew immediately who he was. It was Malfoy, and because my mind was so damaged from the nightmares, I remember asking him if the guards were gone. I remembered him telling me they were gone, and I was relieved. But then Malfoy got curious and started asking me about what happened. He wanted to know why I was so upset, an as much as I wanted to tell someone, as much as I wanted to get rid of all the pain, I couldn't bring myself to tell him. I couldn't bear to think of what he would think of me, of how he would avoid me. I so ashamed of what happened and I knew that I just could not tell anyone. He kept questioning me, and I stayed silent, crying more with each question. I kept thinking of how much everyone would look at me with disgust, and I couldn't bear it if that happened.  
  
I remembered telling him that I couldn't tell him, how the guards might come back, and then I think he figured it out on his own. He stopped asking me for a moment, and I heard him inhale very slowly. Then he point blank asked me if the guards had taken advantage of me. I did nothing but sit there and cry more. I couldn't bring myself to answer, but he forced me to look him in the eyes, and he knew. I waited for him to throw me aside, and call me a Mudblood again. I waited for the look of contempt, and the disgust, but it never came. Instead, he pulled me closer against him, and held me again. I had started sobbing again, and he was rocking me back and forth. I was so confused; why didn't he leave? Why wasn't he gone? He asked me to tell him exactly what happened, and I knew that since he already knew what had happened, what would it matter if he knew the details? So I told him; I relived that night for him, telling him everything that happened.  
  
I continued crying after I had finished. Malfoy had sat still the whole time, not saying a word. When I had finished, he sat for a while, still not saying anything. I hadn't noticed, because I had continued sobbing into his chest. After a while, I realized where exactly I still was, and asked him why he was still here. I was still confused as to why he hadn't left me, why he hadn't abandoned me as I had figured would happen. He replied, saying something I'll never forget. "No one should have to endure their pain alone." I realized then that he wasn't going to leave me, and he didn't blame me for what happened. He stayed, and let me cry the rest of my tears out. I remembered falling asleep at one point, still in his arms, but I don't recall having anymore nightmares that night.  
  
After realizing just what had happened the night before, I sat up quickly the next morning in my bed. Mal-Bran was gone, and I heard the usual morning sounds from the big room. The morning bell must have just rung, so I sat for a moment, trying to collect all of my thoughts, How was I going to face Bran this morning? Now that he knew everything, how would he treat me? I knew that he wouldn't hold it against me, but would he pity me? I didn't think I could bear that anymore than I could abandonment. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door. Before I could answer, Mal- Bran slipped in. After shutting the door quietly behind him, he turned to face me. I was still embarrassed, so I quickly turned my attention to the floor in front of his feet.  
  
"How are you doing?" he asked, his concern sounding genuine. I looked up to face him, and whatever I had planned to say, the words had escaped me. Now that he was there in front of me, I couldn't think of what to say to him. He was still looking at me, with so much worry written all over his face. I returned my gaze to the floor.  
  
"Much better, thank you," I replied quietly. And because I was still insecure about his reaction, I added," If you don't want to have anything to do with me after we get out of here, I understand." I felt so hurt and so confused still. But he came over to the edge of my bed, shaking his head. He sat next to me, and because I wouldn't look at him, he lifted my chin towards him, so that I couldn't look away.  
  
"What happened was not your fault. What happened was unfair to you, and there is no reason for me, or anyone for that matter, to blame you. I am completely amazed that you would be able to bear me, or anyone of the male race, to be near you. It should be me saying those words to you. But if you don't mind, I'd rather stick around. I can't possibly imagine what kind of pain you are suffering through, but I can imagine what it's like to suffer through pain without anyone there. I thought that a true friend is supposed to stay by your side, through anything, so that's what I'm going to do. I'm not leaving, Hermione, not for anything. I finally made a friend, and I won't lose her to such evil as those death eaters. I want you to know, that I'm here, whenever you need to talk, or whenever you need a shoulder to cry on. I promise."  
  
By the middle of his reply, the tears started threatening to spill. He had truly changed so much. I was so completely blown away by his little declaration. To hear that whole answer come from Draco Malfoy's mouth was almost too much to comprehend. Almost. By the time he finished, I just couldn't hold my tears back. I was an emotional wreck, and I just couldn't help it. I wrapped my arms around him, and he hugged me back.  
  
"Thank-you. You don't know how much that means to me." I tried conveying to him my gratitude in words, but they weren't enough. So I gave him one last hug, leaned back, and dried the tears on my face the best that I could. He smiled and shook his head. Another real smile from the usually smirking Malfoy. This day was getting odder by the moment, and I was sure it wasn't even seven o'clock yet. We both stood up at once, realizing that the other cabin members might start wondering where we were. Bran left the room first and I followed soon after, taking a moment to take control of myself. I definitely needed to work on that. When entered the main room, everyone was just getting into their line, ready to head off to the mess hall for breakfast. I took a deep breath, encouraged by a knowing smile form Drac- Bran, and opened the door for the rest of the cabin.  
  
********  
  
Throughout the next week and a half, we worked out the details to our plan. The heads of the cabins were informed of where they were supposed to be with their cabin members and the time they were supposed to be there. The girl, who was to poison the Master's food, and drug all the guards' drinks, was given her deadly weapon, and briefed on exactly what she must do. Plans were set in place for the young boy who had discovered the trunk of wands, who would have the help of several others distributing them when it was time. Bran made a very short trip, unnoticed by any other besides me, to Professor Dumbledore's office. I was so jealous of him. He could just escape, come and go as he please, while we were all still stuck here. He wasn't gone too long, probably only long enough to explain to Dumbledore about the plan, and get the help we needed. Professor Dumbledore had quite helpful, giving Bran many objects that he had quickly transformed into portkeys. Somehow, they would activate right at the moment we had all planned to in our cabins after dinner, at exactly 9:15 pm. Bran and I would stay here, until every cabin had left, to make sure there was no one left behind.  
  
I was so excited that even worked each day with a huge grin across my face. I just couldn't wait to get out of here, and I kept thinking in my mind of what would happen when we got to Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and the professors would be there to greet us, and there would be nothing to worry about, no work to do the next day, no guards to be afraid of. That week and half, Draco and I had become good friends. Yes, I was getting more comfortable with calling him by his first name, and although it still felt weird to me, he was a friend now. We planned everything down to the last detail, and he was pretty much the "leader" of our little escape committee.  
  
I found it so ironic that only a few years ago, we were at each other's throats, and in less than a week, it was as if we had been friends for a long time. I remember him and me talking long into the nights, comparing our childhoods, and telling stories. And I remember the both of us discussing things we had learned at Hogwarts, and I remember being surprised. I knew that I was the top of my class, but apparently, Draco wasn't far behind me. It was good to finally be able to talk to someone my age about the things that I had resorted to talking only the professors about. Those nights were also filled with hope. So much hope for the impending freedom, and I was still amazed how everything was working out.  
  
Two nights before our plan was to follow through, I started thinking a lot about Harry and Ron. It had been a year since I'd seen them, and I wondered how much they changed. According to Draco they had joined the Order, and were helping Professor Dumbledore on "missions". Naturally I was worried about them getting involved in such dangerous situations, but Draco assured me that they were capable. I missed them so much, and I let myself feel that pain for the first time in months. I had purposefully shut them out of my mind, so that I wouldn't go mad with longing. I didn't even allow myself to think about my parents, not even that night. I wouldn't think about them until everyone was safe at Hogwarts. I was too afraid to even let their images into my mind, because I knew I missed them so badly. Another thought came to mind about Harry and Ron that startled me. What if they found out what happened, with the guards? What would they do? How would they react? I knew that Draco was okay with it all, but what about Harry and Ron? I filled with the same dread as before, fearing that they, my best friends, might abandon me.  
  
I was in my room in the cabin, and the others were still awake, talking and getting ready for bed. I quickly slipped out of my room, and hurried over to Draco, who was sitting on his bunk, about to lie down.  
  
"May I speak to you for a moment, please?" I said it as calmly as I could, but I knew Draco could detect the sense of panic in my voice, and in my eyes. He nodded, and followed me to the smaller room.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"You've got to promise me, Draco. Promise me that you say anything to Harry or Ron, or anyone about. about what happened. I don't know how they'd react." Another thought found its way into my mind, frightening me even more. "You didn't say anything to Professor Dumbledore about it, did you?" He looked at me with an odd expression, as if he were trying to figure me out. I hoped that he would understand, and hoped even more that he hadn't said anything.  
  
"No, I didn't say anything to the professor, and don't worry. I won't say anything to Harry and Ron, either. But you will." At first I thought I had misheard him, but then I realized what he had said. I looked at him, a little confused.  
  
"Hermione, I won't say anything, but they are your friends. If they are as close of friends as I think they are, they'll notice something much too different about you than just the effects of a year at a death camp. They'll notice, and they'll ask. And you need to be prepared to tell them Hermione. How will they be there for you, and comfort you, when they don't know what's going on? I'm saying that you must tell them or else, but I think that you need to tell them at some point. I've heard that secrets between friends aren't always good things." He suddenly made an odd face, as if he wanted to say something more, but didn't. Somehow, I knew that he was right. I knew I had to tell them, but I was just so scared.  
  
"I'll tell them. But on my own time. I don't think I can handle it right now." I resigned myself. I wasn't looking forward to it at all, but they did have a right to know what happened to me.  
  
"Agreed. Just don't keep it inside for too long. It's not healthy" He smiled and I smiled back, knowing that he'd keep his promise. We hugged eachother lightly, and he said goodnight as left the room, to go to sleep.  
  
*********  
  
A/N~ I know, I know, it's a really short chapter, but I needed to make it a filler for what's to come. The next two chapters will be super long, I promise. For those who were hoping they'd fall in love at the camp, I'm sorry to burst your happy bubbles, but said from the beginning this was going to be long and drawn out love story. And yes, through this entire chapter, Draco and Hermione are just friends, nothing more.yet. Well Happy New Year to all, may it be a better one than the last. *Does a happy dance* Five months and eleven days till freedom!!!!!! 


	12. Chapter 12

Let the Rain Come Down  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
"I'm a boy, no I'm a man. You can't take me and throw me away..."  
  
The day dawned bright and clear, the kind of morning one usually associates with a day when something out of the ordinary happens. I woke up to the clashing of that blasted bell, and I remember thinking, "Who the hell invented bells, I wish I could stuff them right now." Nonetheless, I rose out of bed, and proceeded to my usual morning routine, the one that I had grown to hate over the past two weeks. All of us fellow cabin mates stumbled into our lines, and as I walked to my usual place, I remembered. Today was the day the plan would unfold. Hermione and I, along with the others would finally be able to set ourselves and the rest of the camp free. Speaking of the devil, she soon came up beside me, and lightly touched my shoulder, and flashed a rare grin. She had remembered what today was also.  
  
It was so odd for me still to hold a decent conversation with her. Ever since that night, after she told me what happened to her, we had developed some sort of trust thing. I deeply respected her for overcoming that monstrous night, and there were times when I would look over at her, and wonder how she lived through it all. It made me hate Voldemort all the more, seeing how much pain she suffered because of that night. I remember just holding her while she was crying, rocking her back and forth, and knowing for the first time, what it was like to truly comfort someone. After that, she trusted me a whole lot more. We actually became friends, talking when we could about our pasts, about Hogwarts, about family. I found myself becoming more and more comfortable around her, like I had with Potter and Weasley.  
  
I smiled back, and we continued on our way out of the cabin, and up to the mess hall. Once there, Hermione and I met up with Liam, Tierney, Niamh, and Ceara. We all sat in silence, but inside, I knew all of us were exploding with anxiety. The plan that would soon come into action was a dangerous and tricky one. The master's dinner was set for later that evening, after we were to have had ours, and all the prisoners that weren't part of the household staff would be in their cabins. We hadn't told anyone except the girl who would put the poison in the cups, and the boy who knew where the wands were. I had apparated to Hogwarts, and told Dumbledore of our plan. He had immediately given me portkey objects and told me how to activate them. He mentioned setting up housing for all of those who would escape. He was beyond ecstatic that a whole camp of prisoners was going to be freed. When I got back, we put a portkey in each cabin, so that once the deatheaters were dead, each person could escape from their own cabin at the same time.  
  
Everything was ready to go, we just had to get through the day, and wait for dinner to be served. To say that we were nervous was an understatement. Hermione was a wreck, but I knew she was anxious to leave. Who wouldn't be? The breakfast bell rang again, signaling the beginning of our torture for the day. I swore to myself that I would never ever buy a clock or anything, for that matter, that had bells on it. We marched out to the fields in our lines, and I remember looking around, thanking the gods that this would be the last day for me, for all of these people to have to walk this path. I remember that as I worked that day, I got a little emotional, because of the experience I'd had there. The two weeks that I was there had changed me even more than before. The people there had taught me how to have hope by the way they carried on, day after day, in the name of their loved ones. I remember thinking of how, after we got back to Hogwarts, these people would eventually heal and go on with their lives, and I would miss their fellowship, for I had talked to many of them in the past weeks. God, I was going soft.  
  
After a while of hauling rocks, I paused to look up at the sun. It had barely moved since the last time I had checked its position. Just to try my patience, this day would be the slowest day of my life. I tried instead to fill my head with plans for when we escaped. How would Dumbledore find room to fit all these people at Hogwarts? What of the kids who were old enough to attend the school? I imagined the looks on the faces of the infamous trio when they were reunited once again. And most of all, I imagined what it would feel like to take a long, hot bath.  
  
Of course, all of that imagining that day did nothing for me. I was still stuck with hauling in the furiously hot sun. Sometimes I wondered whether a deatheater had placed a curse on the sun to make it especially hot on the prisoners. Finally, the bell clanged again, meaning my last day of torture was over, and we could all go eat. If ever there was a moment when anxiety was running high among those behind the plan, this was it. Aguila was about to burst at the seams with excitement, and I had to shoot her a dark look to remind her where she was.  
  
While eating the slop they tried to pass off as food, the girl who worked in the Master's household came to our table to finalize the plan. She was to poor the poison in all of the cups of both the Master's family, overseers, and if there were any, guests. The remaining poison would be dumped evenly into all pitchers used for serving. The poison would work slightly slow, taking about eight minutes to start its work. The girl would wait until the poison worked on all of its victims before returning to the kitchen. All of the overseers and deatheaters were to be at this dinner, so all of them would be taken care of. If there were any who escaped the poison, they would face me and my wand- and no one, save three people could match me in dueling. The girl left the table as unnoticed as a mouse, and the six of us were left in silence. We all stared around us at all of the people, and the building, not talking to each other. It was like a repeat of that morning. We were too nervous. Well, at least I was.  
  
Our silence was interrupted when the boy who was taking care of the wands rushed to the table and sat down in a huff. He came up so quickly on us that the girls jumped, their startled faces confused. It took the boy a few moments to catch his breath before he could spit out what he had to tell us.  
  
"I've just heard- the Master is having a guest tonight after all. Mr. Malfoy-" At this, my attention was completely focused on this boy, no more than two years younger than I, who was taking large gasps in between his explanation. The boy noticed my sudden vested interest, and paused a moment before continuing.  
  
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's gasp main general, bigger gasp Lucius Malfoy, biggest one yet is visiting tonight."  
  
The boy took the next few moments to stop his hyperventilating, while I took the information in. That imbecile was going to be here today, this evening. What if he saw me? What if he recognized me? Before I went into full panic mode, I reminded myself that he would be drugged along with the rest of the deatheaters. I decided that on my way back to the cabin after dinner, I'd rub a little extra dirt on my face, just in case.  
  
"Do you know what this means?!?" exclaimed Liam. "Not only will we escape right under the noses of the master and the overseers, but one of the most powerful deatheaters too!"  
  
I looked over at Aguila. She shot me a look akin to sympathy and understanding. She knew, somehow, the mixed feelings I was experiencing. When it all came down to it, this was just one more complication to overcome. We talked to the boy, now that he was breathing normally, and made sure he knew what to do. His part of the mission was to wait in the kitchen until the girl with the poison came back from the dining room, and then he was to get the trunk of wands and bring it to the doorway of the kitchens. Aguila, Liam, Niamh, Ceara, and Tierney would find their wands, close the trunk, and carry it to Tierney's cabin. At that time, Aguila and I would gather the camp together, tell them of our plan, and direct them to their own cabins. The other four would help them flock, and Aguila and I would go behind and make sure there was no one left behind. Once at Hogwarts, After everyone had been taken care of, their wands would be returned to them. There were so many possibilities of failure with this plan, but it had to work.  
  
Soon after the boy left our table, the bell for the end of our dinner time rang. The six of us stood up, passing looks of anxiety and encouragement to each other. We knew what we each had to do, and we calmly walked to our places in line. Soon we were marching outside into the night, and I watched as those who were to staff the Master's dinner broke from the lines to head to the main house. As we passed the main house, I almost stumbled while I was craning my neck to see inside. The sky was already dark, and it was easy to see the sitting room of the house, as it was lighted with the most expensive chandeliers. I balled my fists when I recognized the tall, blonde man sitting to the right of Master Campbell.  
  
"You!"  
  
I was broken from my staring session by the overseer who was escorting us to the cabins. I was startled to find he was yelling at me.  
  
"You, boy, come here."  
  
My life flashed before my eyes. Somehow, I figured that our plan was found out, and I was discovered. Thank the gods, for once I was wrong.  
  
"We're short on kitchen duty. Report to them at once." He proceeded to pick out a few others. To my surprise, he also picked Aguila. What luck! We didn't have to worry about sneaking to the kitchens to wait for the plan to start. We would already be there. Aguila quickly caught up with me, as we followed the others to the kitchens. We both exchanged smiles, both completely amazed to find that we would soon execute the greatest muggleborn escape in the wizarding world's history.  
  
Once inside the kitchens, we began scrubbing pots, pans, dishes, and whatever other odds and ends the death eaters thought we should clean. As we walked inside, my attention immediately went to the trays of food ready to be served to the dinner party. As I washed dishes, I watched out of the corner of my as the mousy girl discreetly slipped the poison into all the pitchers. It was a large vial, and the poison would mix well with the wine. I nodded and smiled to the girl just as she exited the kitchens with her first batch of trays. The wine would be served as the food was set before them, so it was a matter of ten to fifteen minutes before showtime. There were no deatheaters left to watch us in the kitchens, nor outside watching over the cabins, because the monitor that followed the positions of the prisoners' bracelets was placed in the dining room with all of them. If there were any problems showing on the screens, deatheater overseers would be dispatched to take care of it. Only they would never make it, for they would be fast asleep.  
  
Those minutes after the girl left were the longest minutes of my life up to that point. Anxiety, doubt in the success of the plan, and nervousness wracked my mind. I must have scrubbed the same plate many times, and I noticed Aguila was suffering from the same situation as I. Just when I was thinking of worst case scenarios, the girl burst through the kitchen doors.  
  
"They're taken care of."  
  
Aguila and I nodded to her in silent thanks, as the boy headed up the back stairs to retrieve the wand trunk. While we waited for him, I decided to take a look in the dining room. As I walked in, I was bombarded with an orchestra of snores. The head of every deatheater in the room was on the table, each of them sound asleep. Some were slumped on the floor, others fallen out of their chairs. I looked for the one I hated most. I found him near the head of the table. How fitting. No matter how hard he tried, he could never make it to the top. I walked over to his limp form, and took the dagger from his boot. I knew where he kept every weapon hidden on his body- a mistake he would wish he'd never made. I made ready to erase his existence then and there, but I felt a touch on my arm. I hadn't even heard her come in.  
  
"Don't. Not here, not now. There will be a time when you will exact your vengeance on him as he deserves. This is too quick a death for him."  
  
She spoke softly, as though someone were listening. And she was right. Lucius deserved something more psychologically painful, and he would get it. I lowered the dagger, wiped it with a napkin, and put it back in its sheath. I followed Aguila out of the dining room, and back into the kitchens. Just as we entered, the boy came clunking down the back stairway with a large trunk. His face was red with strain. He set it down, quite proud of himself. We thanked him before sending him to start helping the other four round up the campers. We had three hours before the poison would wear off. We had to be out of there in time.  
  
While the others were busy gathering the camp, Agu-Hermione and I searched through the trunk for her wand. An "Ah ha" signaled that the long lost wand had found its owner. Hermione's eyes watered as she held up her wand. It was like she'd found a long lost sister or something. She sat in silence, waving it around, trying it out to make sure it still worked for her. I pulled out my wand from its hiding place, and placed a floating charm on the trunk. We walked out to the clearing behind the kitchens, and I charmed some torches to burn so that the prisoners could see us, and we could see them. By then, much of the camp had gathered, and most of them were talking to each other in confusion. They didn't understand how they could all be gathered without being caught.  
  
Before long, as Hermione and I stood alone in the clearing before the crowd of prisoners, Liam, Ceara, Niamh, and Tierney showed up on the outskirts of the crowd and gave us a thumbs up. The whole camp was there. We were ready to start the second to last phase of the plan. I glanced over at Hermione, and she at me. Then she took a deep breath, as the attention of the entire camp of muggleborns was on the two of us.  
  
"I know you all are wondering how we are all here without being zapped to pieces. We have good news. Last night was your last night here. We have crippled the deatheaters for a few short hours. In that time, we will all escape. Arrangements have been made for us to be transported to the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We ask that you all return to your cabins in an orderly fashion-" At this, dozens started to break from the crowd. The faces on all of them were stunned.  
  
"Wait, not at this moment. Hear me out, so that this plan will succeed. This is your- our only chance of escape, and one mistake made by one person will ruin it for all of us. Stay where you are for the moment. Once I am done explaining, I want each of you to go back to your assigned cabins, and wait for one of the six of us to come to your cabin. You will all gather around a portkey that will take you to Hogwarts. There, you will receive guidance from the Headmaster. On your way to the cabins, please do not talk, don't dally around. We ALL escape tonight, and we ALL escape together. Now, please, quickly and quietly, go back to your cabins."  
  
Hermione's instructions were understood by all, and the entire camp marched out to their cabins, not in their usual lines, but in order anyway. They followed her instructions to each point. No one talked in fear of not being able to escape. I was surprised that there were no disagreements, no outburst or questions. The campers were too tired to protest, too anxious to escape. I walked with some of the members of my cabin, as Hermione followed behind. There were sixteen cabins, and the three of us boys would make multiple trips to escort the cabins. The last trip would be made by Hermione and I, along with whatever stragglers we found.  
  
"How did you all do this?" asked one of the men in my cabin.  
  
"Pure luck and brilliant minds," I replied. I glanced at Hermione who stood along the far wall of the cabin, and smiled. She would wait there for me to return from the first load of soon to be ex prisoners. I picked up the portkey, a small, disfigured brick.  
  
"Okay, everyone, gather round the brick. If you aren't able to reach it, hold onto someone who can, and so on. Hold on tight." I nodded to Hermione, and whispered the spell that activated the portkey. Immediately, I felt the pull at my navel, and the familiar nauseous feeling of traveling through space. In an instant, we arrived with a small fwump! on a bed of leaves. We were on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. Just beyond the thin line of trees, I saw the castle of Hogwarts looming in the distance.  
  
"Lumos!" I lit my wand and motioned for the members of my cabin to follow me. We quietly exited the trees, and I saw four other shadowy groups following suit down the edge of the forest. We started running up the hill as quickly as possible, and soon made it to the courtyard of the castle. My jaw dropped in shock. Filling up the courtyard were many quickly built cabin-tents, temporary housing for the refugees. They were built in a large circle around a clearing at the center. I headed for that clearing. Since my group was the first to make it, I was greeted by Dumbledore.  
  
"I see that yours and Ms. Granger's plan is working so far, so well?" The professor smiled. I smiled back.  
  
"Yes, Professor. The groups are beginning to arrive. Ag-Hermione and I will head the last group. Here's the first of them." I motioned to the group of shocked refugees standing in awe behind me. They were free, and to see the happiness in their faces was more than enough for me. I felt as though I had finally done something to be proud of. This first group that had made it to the courtyard stood rooted to the ground, looking around at freedom. Some were smiling, and others started weeping. Some of Hogwarts' staff came out to help sort each of them. The injured and sick ones were taken immediately to the hospital wing in the castle. The rest were put in a line to have their bracelets removed. It was a simple spell, one that removed the magic contained in the bracelet, vanquished that magic, and unclasped the bracelet from its grip around the person's wrist.  
  
I nodded to Dumbledore as I headed back towards the forest to apparate back to the camp. Just as I left, the other groups were making their way up to the courtyard. I nodded at them as I passed, and sprinted back to the tree line. I wanted this over with. I wanted everyone out of harm's way as soon as possible. I made it to the point of apparition safety, and disappeared. I landed inaudibly back to the cabin where Hermione was waiting.  
  
"Well?!?!" She was very anxious, as you can imagine.  
  
"They're safe. We need to get to the others. Go get the trunk of wands, and guide it to cabin 12- that's Tierney's next cabin." As an afterthought, I added,"Please."  
  
She nodded, and as we left the cabin, she headed back toward the kitchens. I headed to next cabin to prepare them for their departure. I repeated the same process as the first group, hastily dropping them off at the clearing of the courtyard. By that time, other cabins were already being sorted and de-braceleted. I headed back to the camp, and successfully delivered two more cabin loads of refugees. In between each load, I caught brief glances of Hermione rushing between cabins to check for stragglers. On my third trip to the courtyard, I almost bowled over Harry as I was heading back to the forest.  
  
"Where's Hermione?" He asked, in a rush.  
  
"She and I will be with the last group out of there. She wanted to be the last to leave, to make sure everyone made it."  
  
Mumble, mumble, was his reply, so I shook my head and continued toward the forest. Great. Her best friends were here, and they were going to cause a commotion when she arrived. I pushed myself through the crowd and went back to the camp. Soon, we were down to the last and smallest cabin load. All the other cabins had been emptied, but Hermione and I did a quick run- thru of the grounds, and the house. Hermione took a detour into the dining room. She stopped beside one of the overseers. She took a moment, pulled back her arm, and punched him as hard as she could. She didn't even flinch. The poison was so powerful, he wouldn't feel the pain until he woke up, and by then, I figured that his eye would be swollen shut. Hermione walked calmly out of the room, passing me, without a word. "Are you quite done?" I asked. She paused and turned around. First she looked at me, then back into the room, and shook her head. She then strode past me again, back into the room, and proceeded to punch another guard, once again, without flinching. I ahook my head in amazement as she passed me one last time out the door. "Now, I am satisfied." I laughed to myself and followed her out the door of the house, and to last cabin.  
  
We finally made it to the cabin, but, once again, Hermione paused. She took a moment to look around the camp, and I saw no tears escaper her eyes. She closed them, took a deep breath, and entered the cabin. Inside, there were about twelve prisoners left. The portkey was a small shoelace. I held one end, as Hermione held the other. The others crowded around, and touched part of the shoelace.  
  
"This is it. No more torture, everyone." I mumbled the words of the spell, and away we went.  
  
(Thought I was gonna end it, didn't ya;P)  
  
We arrived back in the tree line, and I helped pick up some of the others off the ground, including Hermione. In the moonlight, I could see the smile on her face stretching from ear to ear. Before I could turn, to lead them out, Ag- Hermione jumped at me, and gave me the biggest hug I'd ever had in my life. I was truly fearing for the existence of my air supply, when she let go. As much as her happiness was contagious, it was more than enough human contact than I'd wanted. I shook my head and began to lead the last of the refugees out of the forest, and up to the courtyard. Hermione was to be the caboose, but what ended up happening was altogether different. She started running so fast, that she zoomed by me, and I admit, I was left in the dust. So I fell back to behind the last person. We made it to the top of the hill, and, together, for Hermione waited for us to catch up, we entered the courtyard.  
  
It was nearing chaos. The lines for de-braceleting, and wand retrieving were intermingled, and the ones who had been through both lines were milling about, looking for friends. It was like being stuck in the middle of a busy street in a large city. I directed the cabin to either of the lines, and then turned back to Hermione. She stood still where she was. Her gaze was fixed upon the lighted castle walls, and the courtyard filled with smiling people. This was her dream come true, and to see her expression, to feel the range of emotions just by standing next to her was an unreal experience. She was radiating relief, and her smile never faltered. This is why I did all of it, I thought to myself. To see this from her. That's why.  
  
I had to shake her a bit to remind her that the moment was real, and she was free. "Would you like to be rid of that bracelet?" I asked. She nodded after a moment, still in a daze. I muttered the words for the release spell, and soon the bracelet came off, and I threw it in the pile of them beside us. She broke out of her daze soon after, and turned to me.  
  
"Thank you, Br- Draco. I owe you my life, as well as the rest of these people here. We would have never escaped without all that you did. Thank you so much." This followed by another breath extinguishing hug. Once I regained my precious air, I answered.  
  
"I wasn't the only one that saved them. You were the one with the plan. Consider your debt repaid, as you also saved all of these people's lives. We should go find Professor Dumbledore, he'll want to see you." She nodded, and we turned to look for him, but we were stopped by a loud shout. Two actually.  
  
"HERMIONE!!!!!!!!"  
  
Behind us, Harry and Ron came running, shouting and waving frantically. I turned to Hermione to find her face completely white as a ghost's.  
  
A/N The end this time, I promise. Immediately ducks the overly rotten fruit and veggies that have been rotting for over seven months now. I know, I know, bad Soronume. I claim disability though. Several, now that we come down to it. First, I diagnosed myself with UAWBS- "Unusually Awful Writer's Block Syndrome. And the there was that bout of MTLMWTMHS- My Teachers Loaded Me With Too Much Homework Syndrome. But now, that is all over. Guess why? Not only is it summer, but now, I am officially a college student. Yes, ladies and...ladies (I apologize if there are any actual gents out there, but I'm beginning to believe that d/h ships being read by guys is like me believing in santa) well, anyhoo, Yes, I am a college student!!! Woohoo. So, yeah, I've got a whole summer to work on this story. I'm hoping to get at least four more chapters out, if not more. Thank you for all of your reviews, I'm glad that some people are still humoring me. Next chapter: Hermione's reaction to Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore, as well as freedom. Have a great Fourth of July to all you Amreicans! 


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